Doctoral Dissertation Research in Political Science: The Impact of Community Organizing on Political Engagement

这个博士论文研究支持项目考察了选民如何了解总统提名竞选中的候选人和问题。对选民来说，总统提名竞选是一个艰难的环境，除了现任总统寻求连任时的党内情况。这是真的，因为它几乎总是以低信息竞赛开始，公民面临的背景环境是一个困难的环境，因为竞选的党内性质和众多候选人竞争。然而，由于竞选是连续进行的，持续时间长达数月，选民有大量的机会通过候选人的事件和活动、媒体的报道以及初选选民和参加预选会议的人的决定来了解候选人。虽然从技术上讲，每个州的竞选活动都是一个州的竞争，其唯一目的是选举代表，但各州的竞选活动已经国家化，使候选人有机会获得全国和地方媒体的报道，在各州建立选民支持基础，筹集所需的竞选资金。随着候选人通过其活动、媒体报道和选举结果而变得更加知名，个人层面的态度和偏好也会发生变化。虽然各州之间的信息可能会有所不同，这取决于该州的竞选活动水平，以及感兴趣和不感兴趣的个人之间的信息，但信息确实会积累，并且确实会影响人们对候选人的偏好和态度。因此，关于赢家和输家的信息，以及关于候选人特征和政策的更实质性的信息，有助于未来的选民确定候选人的生存能力和可选性，淘汰那些最弱的候选人。在这项研究中，这位博士生关注的是潜在的提名选民如何对竞选活动做出反应，考虑到选民所处的背景环境（激烈的竞争或低调的安全竞争）和个人的属性，尤其是他们的政治成熟度，这使得潜在的选民或多或少更有可能接受和接受新的政治信息。关键问题集中在信息对选民的影响，以及选民何时、哪些人获得信息并对信息作出反应。信息来自州级和国家级的运动强度。对于这篇论文，学生关注三个关键的因变量：关于候选人的知识，候选人选择或候选人偏好和政治参与。为了解决与选民学习相关的问题，研究设计包括滚动面板和横断面调查设计，以捕捉态度发展随着竞选环境的变化而变化。此外，该研究项目还收集了大量关于候选人行为、媒体报道和宏观竞选条件的背景数据。设计和数据收集使学生能够将候选人的活动、媒体和宏观竞选条件与个人联系起来，并将这些信息与个人层面的政治成熟度指标进行互动。通过检查上下文环境，她将能够评估选民对候选人了解了什么、何时以及哪些信息，以及这些知识如何帮助他们做出更明智的决定。该项目有可能产生更广泛的影响，因为它将协助研究生和本科生的培训，并为今后研究总统提名竞选、选民背景的重要性和背景数据在理解个人层面的态度和行为方面的价值提供资源。

This Doctoral Dissertation Research Support project examines how voters learn about the candidates and issues in presidential nomination campaigns. Presidential nomination campaigns are difficult environments for voters, except for the in party when a sitting president is seeking reelection. This is true because it nearly always begins as a low information race and the contextual environment that faces citizens is a difficult one because of the intraparty nature of the contest and the multiple numbers of candidates competing. However, because the race is sequential and lasts over a period of months, voters have a tremendous opportunity to learn about the candidates through the events and activities of candidates, reports by the media, and the decisions of primary voters and caucus goers. While technically each state campaign is a state contest for the sole purpose of delegate selection, the state campaigns have been nationalized making state events opportunities for candidates to earn national and local media coverage, create a voter support base across states and raise needed campaign funds. As candidates become more known through their activities, media reports and election outcomes individual level attitudes and preferences change. While information may vary across states, based upon the level of campaign action in the state, and between interested and uninterested individuals, information does accrue and does impact both preferences and attitudes about the candidates. Information, therefore, about winners and losers and more substantive information about candidates' traits and policies, helps future voters determine the viability and electability of candidates, weeding out candidates who are the weakest alternatives.In this research the Ph. D. student focuses on how potential nomination voters respond to the campaign as it unfolds, considering the contextual environment that voters find themselves in (hard fought or low key sate contests) and the attributes of individuals, especially their level of political sophistication, that makes potential voters more or less likely to receive and accept new political information. The key questions center around how information matters to voters and when and which voters acquire and react to information. Information comes from the intensity of the campaign at the state and national level. For this dissertation the student focuses on three key dependent variables: knowledge about the candidates, candidate choice or candidate preference and political engagement. To address questions related to voter learning the research design consists of a rolling panel and cross-sectional survey design that captures attitude development as it changes in response to the context of the campaign. In addition, the research program collects a vast amount of contextual data on candidate behavior, media coverage and macro campaign conditions. The design and data collection allows the student to connect the activities of candidates, the media and macro campaign conditions with individuals and interact that information with individual level measures of political sophistication. By examining the contextual environment she will be able to assess what, when and which voters learn about the candidates and how that knowledge assists them in making more informed decisions. The project has the potential for broader impact because it will assist in graduate and undergraduate training and provide a resource for future studies of presidential nomination campaigns, the importance of voter context and the value of contextual data in understanding individual level attitudes and behavior.