exploratory blockmodeling

{{Context|date=September 2021}}

Exploratory blockmodeling is an (inductive) approach (or a group of approaches) in blockmodeling regarding the specification of an ideal blockmodel.{{cite book |last1=Doreian |first1=Patrick |last2=Batagelj |first2=Vladimir |last3=Ferligoj |first3=Anuška |date=2004 | title=Generalized Blockmodeling (Structural Analysis in the Social Sciences) |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-84085-6}}{{rp|234}} This approach, also known as hypotheses-generating, is the simplest approach, as it "merely involves the definition of the block types permitted as well as of the number of clusters."[https://www.iioa.org/conferences/16th/files/Papers/Weber%20Introducing%20blockmodeling%20to%20input-output%20analysis.doc WEBER, M. (2007), “Introducing blockmodeling to input-output analysis”. 16th International I-Ot Conf, Istanbul, Turkey.] With this approach, researcher usually defines the best possible blockmodel, which then represent the base for the analysis of the whole network.{{cite journal |last1=Faust |first1=Katherine |last2=Wasserman |first2=Stanley |date=1992 |title=Blockmodels: Interpretation and evaluation |url= |journal=Social Networks |volume=14 |issue= |pages=5–61 |doi=}}

This approach is usually based on:{{Cite book |last1=Nooy |first1=Wouter de |last2=Mrvar |first2=Andrej |last3=Batagelj |first3=Vladimir |title=Exploratory Social Network Analysis with Pajek. Revised and Expanded Edition for Updated Software. Third Edition |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=2018 |isbn=978-1-108-47414-6}}{{rp|284}}

• previous analyses and theoretical considerations,
• using stricker blockmodel and block types, where the structural equivalence is stricker than the regular equivalence and
• using smaller number of classes.

The opposite approach is called a confirmatory blockmodeling.