Compare methods

	Generalized Blockmodeling	Structural Equivalence
Field	Sociology	Sociology
Family	Process / pipeline	Process / pipeline
Year of origin	2005	1971
Originator	Patrick Doreian, Vladimir Batagelj & Anuška Ferligoj	François Lorrain & Harrison White
Type	Direct optimization partition of a network into positions with typed blocks	Equivalence relation grouping actors with identical tie patterns
Seminal source	Doreian, P., Batagelj, V., & Ferligoj, A. (2005). Generalized Blockmodeling. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 978-0-521-84085-9	Lorrain, F., & White, H. C. (1971). Structural equivalence of individuals in social networks. The Journal of Mathematical Sociology, 1(1), 49–80.
Aliases	generalized blockmodel, direct blockmodeling, pre-specified blockmodeling, Doreian-Batagelj-Ferligoj blockmodeling	structural equivalence analysis, positional equivalence, Euclidean equivalence of actors, equivalence classes
Related	5	5
Summary	Generalized blockmodeling, developed by Doreian, Batagelj, and Ferligoj, partitions the actors of a network into positions and simultaneously characterizes the ties between positions as one of several allowed block types — null, complete, regular, dominant, and others. Rather than the indirect, two-step approach of computing equivalences and then clustering, it directly searches for the partition that minimizes the inconsistency between the observed network and an idealized block structure, optionally one the analyst pre-specifies from theory.	Structural equivalence identifies actors who occupy the same position in a network because they have identical ties to identical others. Defined by François Lorrain and Harrison White in 1971, it formalizes the idea that two people are interchangeable in the social structure when they relate to exactly the same set of third parties, and it provides the foundation for partitioning networks into positions and building blockmodels.