Testing a Theory of Group Growth and Decline

这个研究将检验一个理论，该理论认为群体通过个体之间的社会网络联系以及群体之间对社区中人们的时间和其他资源的竞争来获得和失去成员。美国国家科学基金会之前的一项拨款收集了10个社区的1050名个人和254个团体的数据。这个新项目将通过对群体数据的归纳编码和分析来检验群体层面的假设，并将群体数据向公众开放。该项目将大大扩展对组织增长和衰退动态的科学理解，对企业和志愿团体有潜在的好处，并推进基本的社会学理论。＊＊＊

9308326 McPherson This research will test a theory arguing that groups gain and lose members through the social network connections between individuals, and through competition between groups for the time and other resources of the people in the community. A previous NSF grant gathered data on 1050 individuals and 254 groups in 10 communities. This new project will test group level hypotheses through inductive coding and analysis of group level data, and it will make the group data available to the public. The project will significantly expand scientific understanding of the dynamics of growth and decline of organizations, with potential benefit for corporations and voluntary groups as well as advancing basic sociological theory. ***