DEFINITIONS OF POWER AND RESEARCH FINDINGS: A RESEARCH NOTE

This paper analyzes the relationship between conceptualizations of power (i.e., influence or social control definitions) and research findings (i.e. elite power structure or pluralistic power structure). The results of analyses of 23 empirical studies reveal that studies in which the author defined power from the influence perspective tended to identify elite power structures. On the other hand, studies in which authors defined power in terms of social control generally identified pluralistic power structures. These findings suggest that the way in which a researcher conceptualizes power may be a factor in the findings of community power research.