ON THE EVOLUTION OF GROUP AND NETWORK STRUCTURE

The evolution of the structure of a social group through time is described. The procedures employed to do this are based on algebraic topological notions and this structural language is shown flexible enough to describe structural change. The description of structural change raises the issue of explaining these structural changes. However, the data used here are not rich enough to permit the explanation of the changes described. This points to the need to couple data collection, theoretical analysis and methodological procedures for network analysis in real time, or to have a body of data rich enough to return to for clarification and answers whenever structural changes through time are delineated and require explanation. This will have to be done within a dynamically orientated framework. © 1979.