Data Development for International Research: Event-Data Collection and Software

在过去的二十年里，国际关系的分支领域出现了大量令人兴奋的新理论。重要的理论已经被提出来解释超级大国和小国之间战争的开始和扩散，国际军备竞赛的动态，国际经济的结构和运作，包括贸易流动和国际发展，以及内部暴力的原因，包括革命，叛乱，政变，暗杀只是社会科学理论发展的几个方面。虽然也有相当多的精力用于从经验上检验这些理论，但由于缺乏大量可靠的国际事件时间序列数据，阻碍了进展。该奖项支持国际研究数据开发（DDIR）长期项目的延续，该项目旨在维持、扩展和提高用于研究和分析跨国和国际政治事件的主要数据库的质量。DDIR的第一阶段是填写和更新主要的国际数据集。第二阶段将继续更新收集资料，同时为今后的数据收集工作建立一个更持久的基础。具体来说，该项目有两个主要重点：1)更新和扩展四个主要事件数据集，COPDAB、WEIS、BCOW和SHERFACS。2)开发计算机技术，简化数据收集工作，并将其成本降低到不需要联邦政府持续支持的水平。该项目完成后将提供一个更大、更完整、更可靠的数据集，用于检验和完善现有的国际和跨国政治理论。

The subfield of International Relations has seen a proliferation of exciting new theories over the past twenty years. Important theories have been advanced to account for the onset and diffusion of war among both superpowers and smaller states, the dynamics of international arms races, the structure and operation of the international economy including trade flows and international development, and the causes of internal violence including revolutions, rebellions, coups d'etat, and assassination to cite only a few of the fronts on which social science theory has been advanced. Although considerable energy also has been devoted to efforts to test these theories empirically, the absence of an extensive body of reliable time- series data on international events has impeded progress. This award supports continuation of a long term project -- Data Development in International Research (DDIR) -- to maintain, extend and improve the quality of major databanks for the study and analysis of cross-national and international political events. The first stage of DDIR filled in and updated major international data sets. This second stage will continue to update the collections while establishing a more permanent base for future data collection efforts. Specifically, the project has two principal thrusts: 1) to update and extend the four main event datasets, COPDAB, WEIS, BCOW, and SHERFACS, and 2) to develop the computer technology that will simplify data collection efforts and reduce their costs to levels that do not require continuing federal support. When completed this project will provide a much larger, more complete, and more reliable set of data with which to test and refine existing theories in international and cross-national politics.