Doctoral Dissertation Research in Political Science: Information and Context: The Electoral Intersection

Ohio State University Research Foundation -Do Not Use, Columbus OH

Investigators

Abstract

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). How do individuals' knowledge of politics and exposure to campaigns interact to affect voting behavior? Campaigns provide new information to particular segments of the population. In addition, individuals bring their prior knowledge of politics to weigh on new information. Thus the information brought to bear on political behavior can be quite different from one individual to the next and from one environment to the next. This research seeks to paint a fuller picture of how campaigns are interpreted and utilized by a heterogeneous electorate. The challenge of understanding how individuals process and react to campaign information suggests a methodologically inclusive approach. This project utilizes both observational and experimental data to investigate the impact of campaigns on specific dimensions of political information. Differences in information and exposure are also exploited to test for combined and distinct causal influences on political attitudes and behavior. Contrary to previous research designs, which have been largely static, the focus is on how the relationships between information and exposure interact throughout the course of the campaign. The broader impacts of this project include the introduction of new measures to illuminate the underlying dimensions of political information. The collection and eventual dissemination of original experimental data on campaign exposure and political information provide opportunities to study these measures in a controlled environment. Such measures and methods along with a comprehensive theory seek to unify a host of recent yet contrary findings in the literature. Also of broader value, the training of undergraduate students in experimental and survey research and the providing of hands-on experience in these areas provide positive byproducts to the community. In addition, because information shortages are often prevalent among minorities, the less educated, and the poor, misrepresentation may be compounded among the neediest members of society. Insight into the ramifications and causes of the misbalance in political information may be particularly beneficial for increasing political representation.