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Community Development Journal 36:63-71 (2001)
© 2001 Community Development Journal and Oxford University Press

Article

Caught in the nets: a critical examination of the use of the concepts of 'networks' in community development studies

G Giarchi

Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK, E-mail: ggiarchi@plymouth.ac.uk

This paper reviews the use of 'networks' in community studies. The author refers to the nebulous meanings attached to the term and likens its omnibus application to that of the concept of 'community'. In the literature, a mode of inter-communication, whether technological, organisational or inter-relational or merely social is described as 'a network'. To date, its widespread usage is unquestioned in academia and community development practice. However, this paper demonstrates that the concept of network is a metaphor which is only valid when referring to formal modes of communication and relationships and not when referring to informal connections, such as within self-help or user-led groups, or relationships between kin, friends or neighbours. The author makes the sociological point that network as a metaphor cannot be used to denote both the formal and informal, because conceptually they are opposites. Social scientists are mixing their metaphors. The author also evaluates the mathematised uses of network analysis, concluding that 'circle' is a preferable less mechanistic alternative when referring to the informal domain. The usage of circles in community development studies is illustrated in selected empirical research programmes.


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