Two basic approaches to network analysis are compared in terms of the network
subgroups each produces. The relational approach, developing from traditional
sociometry, focuses on relations between actors (individuals, groups, or corporations) and aggregates actors connected by cohesive bonds into "cliques." The
positional approach focuses on the pattern of relations in which an actor is involved and aggregates actors with similar patterns, i.e., "structurally equivalent"
actors, into jointly occupied positions. There are several questions that can be
posed for a specific project that might lead an individual to analyze subgroups
in terms of cohesion versus structural equivalence. Here, considering a series
of such questions, I conclude that subgroups based on structural equivalence
are to be preferred to those based on cohesion. Cliques can be analyzed as a special
type of jointly occupied network position. Illustration is provided by data on
the elite experts in methodological and mathematical sociology circa 1975.
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