Dissertation Research: Effects of Civic Engagement and Cognitive Repertoires on Political Participation

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Much research on civil society and political participation assumes that democratic citizenship is directly and positively related to activity in civil society. However, little research tests this assumption or offers a mechanism for the relationship between civic engagement and political activity. This doctoral dissertation research will explore the empirical relationship between civic engagement and political participation and the political-cultural mechanisms that underlie that relationship. The first phase will use existing survey data (American Citizen Participation Study and General Social Survey) to model the relationships among civic engagement, efficacy, civic skills, and political participation. Particular attention will be paid to differentiating effects of different kinds and amounts of civic and political participation, and to understanding context and network effects on participation. The second phase will recruit participants into focus groups based on the findings from the first section. The focus groups will examine the relationships among civic and political experiences, "cognitive repertoires" of politics, and political participation. Transcripts will be analyzed for the ways participants structure thought on political involvement. A systematic, replicable methodology for coding and interpreting focus group and other textual data will be developed. A software package and standard - QCML, the Qualitative Coding Markup Language - will be developed to implement this methodology.