The general objective of this dissertation was to study, observe, and analyze the phenomena of social power in 5 Iowa communities. The specific objectives were to define a social system model, a social power model, and the methodology used for the delineation of persons perceived to be power actors; to determine the extent to which the power actors were perceived to have social power in different issue areas in 5 communities; and to generate some suggestions and implications. The procedures for identifying the power actors involved 3 phases: (1) external community knowledgeables were interviewed, (2) internal community knowledgeables were interviewed, and (3) 92 power actors were interviewed with a formal field schedule. Major findings were that empirical data did not support the general hypothesis that power structures will vary by issue area and that the data tended to support the hypothesis that community power structures were more polymorphic as the size of the community increased. Twelve suggestions for social scientists doing future power structure research were included, along with 7 implications for change agents. (PS)