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Estimating Policy Positions Using Social Network Data
- Source :
- Social Science Computer Review. 35:53-67
- Publication Year :
- 2016
- Publisher :
- SAGE Publications, 2016.
-
Abstract
- Social network site (SNS) data provide scholars with a plethora of new opportunities for studying public opinion and forecasting electoral outcomes. While these are certainly among the most promising big data applications in political science research, a series of pioneering studies have started to uncover the vast potential of such data to estimate the policy positions of political actors. Adding to this emerging strand in the scholarly literature, the present article explores the validity of (individual) policy positions derived from the social network structure of the microblogging platform Twitter. At the aggregate party level, cross-validation with external data sources suggests that SNS data provide valid policy position estimates. In contrast, the empirical analysis reveals only a moderate connection between individual policy positions retrieved from the social network structure and those retrieved from members of parliament individual voting record. These results thus highlight the potential as well as important limitations of SNS data in indicating the policy positions of political parties and individual legislators.
- Subjects :
- Structure (mathematical logic)
Social network
business.industry
Microblogging
Parliament
media_common.quotation_subject
05 social sciences
Big data
General Social Sciences
050801 communication & media studies
Library and Information Sciences
Public relations
Public opinion
0506 political science
Computer Science Applications
Politics
0508 media and communications
Voting
050602 political science & public administration
Economics
Social media
business
Law
media_common
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 15528286 and 08944393
- Volume :
- 35
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Social Science Computer Review
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........aa30db52202122281cdb50900f9aea51