Communicating Images of Congressional Policymaking to Constituents: An Examination of Congressional Mass Mailings

本项目将对国会议员通过群发邮件向选民发送的与政策有关的信息进行系统分析。将采用两种方法。首先，将对1991年至1996年期间随机抽取的国会议员发送的所有群发邮件进行内容分析。这将产生有关邮件中包含的消息的内容和变化的信息。其次，新闻秘书和其他国会工作人员将接受关于影响大量邮件内容的策略的采访。对群发邮件的审查将从两个方面增加我们对国会沟通的认识。首先，它将提供一个独特的数据库，说明大量邮件中所载的信息以及代表们利用这种通讯工具实现其目标的方式。其次，该项目将显示哪些因素在解释国会议员对政府决策描述的差异方面具有重要意义。

This project will provide a systematic analysis of the policy-relevant messages that Members of Congress send to their constituents in mass mailings. Two methods will be utilized. First, a content analysis will be conducted on all mass mailings sent from 1991 to 1996 by a random sample of Members of Congress. This will yield information on the content and variance of messages contained in the mailings. Second, press secretaries and other congressional staff, will be interviewed in regard to the strategies that shape the content of mass mailings. This examination of mass mailings will add to our knowledge on congressional communication in two ways. First, it will provide a unique database on messages contained in mass mailings and the ways that representatives use this communication vehicle to attain their goals. Second, the project will show which factors are significant in explaining the variance among Members of Congress in their portrayals of government policymaking.