ABSTRACT
This book gives an up to date reference on the state of the art in this highly important methodological area, which is central both to theoretical models of party competition and to empirical accounts, whether these are case studies or comparative analyses. It looks at subjects including tracking estimates of public opinion and party policy intentions in Britain and the USA; the policy space of party manifestos; and party platforms and voters' perceptions. Its panel of respected contributors reviews the refinements which have been made to established techniques as well as considering the potential and early successes of computer coding.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part |30 pages
Overview
chapter |21 pages
Searching for the positions of political actors
part |116 pages
Expert coded text analysis
chapter |16 pages
Validating the Manifesto Research Group approach
part |90 pages
Computer coded text analysis
chapter |10 pages
The computer coding of political texts
chapter |24 pages
Estimating policy positions from the computer coding of political texts
part |8 pages
Conclusion