The Fifth Module of the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES)

选举制度的比较研究（CSES）调查了不同国家选举设计和实践的差异如何影响这些国家的个人的思维和行为。 2014年，民主国家的数量是20年前的两倍。CSES完全有能力研究这一前所未有的持续民主化浪潮。CSES项目为60多个国家的社会科学研究工作提供协调和领导，并已成为此类研究中最知名的数据资源。该项目免费向公众传播其所有数据，并被数千名科学家，学生，政策制定者，记者和公民使用。CSES按模块排列。 每个模块都是关于一个重要的科学主题的调查问卷，该主题由研究界确定并由项目合作者选择。这些调查问卷被纳入在世界各国举行全国选举时进行的高质量、有代表性的调查。 每个模块为期五年，在此期间每个国家至少举行一次全国选举。 目前的建议是完成CSES第四模块的活动，并计划和设计第五模块。CSES涉及美国和国际上200多名学者的合作，促进对选举，投票选择，投票率以及公民对民主和政治的态度等持久和基本问题的理解。这个独特的研究计划的目标是了解社会，政治和经济如何塑造公民的信仰和行为，检查和比较各国民主和选举的性质和质量，并了解不同背景的群体，生活在不同的政治安排下，与民主制度互动。CSES收集来自每个国家的调查数据，以及有关该国社会，政治和经济状况的背景资料。 CSES设计、接收、清理、检查和合并所有这些数据，将它们合并为一个数据集，以便进行跨国家的比较。 所有的数据都可以通过项目网站免费提供。 这是一个独特的资源，为世界各地的研究人员，这是反映在大量和越来越多的出版物，利用数据。CSES数据有助于研究问题，是至关重要的国家政策在美国，在某种程度上是不可能的其他数据集。 它鼓励围绕民主、政治和社会科学问题开展国际合作。该项目是研究和建设发展中民主国家科学能力的独特资源。 CSES被广泛用于通过大学课程培训学生，学生定期担任该项目的研究助理。基于CSES的研究提供了关于民主制度如何实际运作的不可或缺的见解，并有助于对不同选举制度的优点和缺点的辩论。

The Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES) investigates how differences in the design and practice of elections in different countries affect how individuals in those countries think and behave. In 2014, twice as many countries are democracies than just two decades ago. The CSES is well positioned to study this unprecedented and continuing wave of democratization. The CSES project provides coordination and leadership for the social science research efforts of over 60 nations, and has established itself as the most-well known data resource for this type of research. The project disseminates all of its data for free to the public, and is being used by thousands of scientists, students, policy makers, journalists, and citizens.CSES is arranged according to modules. Each module is a questionnaire on an important topic of scientific interest, a topic identified by the research community and selected by project collaborators. The questionnaires are included in high quality, representative surveys that are conducted at the time of national elections in countries around the world. Each module is in place for five years, to incorporate at least one national election in each country during the time span. The current proposal is to complete the activities of the fourth module of the CSES, and to plan and design the fifth module.Involving the collaboration of more than 200 scholars in the United States and internationally, CSES advances the understanding of enduring and fundamental questions about elections, vote choice, turnout, and citizens' attitudes about democracy and politics. The goals of this unique research program are to understand how society, politics, and economics shape the beliefs and behaviors of citizens, to examine and compare the nature and quality of democracy and elections across countries, and to understand how groups with different backgrounds, and living under different political arrangements, interact with democratic institutions.CSES collects survey data from each country, as well as background information about the social, political, and economic conditions in the country. CSES designs, receives, cleans, checks, and merges all of these data, combining them into a single dataset which allows for comparison across countries. All of the data are then made freely and immediately available via the project website. This is a unique resource for researchers worldwide, and that is reflected in the large and growing number of publications that make use of the data.CSES data help in examining issues that are crucial to national policy in the United States, in a way that is not possible with other datasets. It encourages international cooperation around issues of democracy, politics, and social science. The project is a unique resource in studying, and building scientific capacity in, developing democracies. CSES is widely used in training students through university coursework, and students regularly serve as research assistants for the project.CSES-based research provides indispensable insight on how democratic institutions actually work and contributes to the debate about the virtues and vices of different electoral systems.