Rethinking backcloth and traffic: perspectives from social network analysis and Q-analysis

Fundamental both to <I>Q</I>-analysis and to social network analysis is the assumption that relational structure influences the behavior of the underlying population. This assumption is expressed in <nobr><I>Q</I>-analysis</nobr> by saying that the backcloth structure permits or forbids traffic on the backcloth. Backcloth structure and traffic are represented rather differently in the two disciplines. In this paper, the two representations are contrasted, with the goal of obtaining a useful cross-fertilization.