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Combining strengths of methods of party positioning to counter their weaknesses: the development of a new methodology to calibrate parties on issues and ideological dimensions

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  • André Krouwel
  • Annemarie Elfrinkhof

Abstract

In this paper we review various methods of party positioning on issues and abstract political dimensions and describe the method that has been developed specifically for the Dutch voting advice application Kieskompas (Election Compass). Basically there are five methods for positioning political parties on political issues and on deeper-lying conflict dimensions: (a) expert surveys (b) voter surveys, (c) party elite surveys, (d) on the basis of roll-call behaviour (e) placements based on manifesto coding (either hand coded or by computer-based calibration). After reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of the various methods, we argue that combining expert placements with text-based calibration (using party manifestos) results in an improved methodology to position political parties on issues and bipolar political dimensions. This new methodology, that was developed for the Voting Advice Application Kieskompas, combines a text-based expert judgement, party-manifesto coding (including computer-based search techniques) and a self-placement by political parties. This process increases the validity and reliability of estimating party positions on political issues. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

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  • André Krouwel & Annemarie Elfrinkhof, 2014. "Combining strengths of methods of party positioning to counter their weaknesses: the development of a new methodology to calibrate parties on issues and ideological dimensions," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 1455-1472, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:qualqt:v:48:y:2014:i:3:p:1455-1472
    DOI: 10.1007/s11135-013-9846-0
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    1. Korthals, R.A. & Levels, M., 2016. "Multi-attribute compositional voting advice applications (MacVAAs) : a methodology for educating and assisting voters and eliciting their preferences," Research Memorandum 011, Maastricht University, Graduate School of Business and Economics (GSBE).
    2. Pierre-Marc Daigneault & Dominic Duval & Louis M. Imbeau, 2018. "Supervised scaling of semi-structured interview transcripts to characterize the ideology of a social policy reform," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 52(5), pages 2151-2162, September.
    3. Kostas Gemenis, 2015. "An iterative expert survey approach for estimating parties’ policy positions," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 49(6), pages 2291-2306, November.
    4. Mouter, Niek & de Geest, Auke & Doorn, Neelke, 2018. "A values-based approach to energy controversies: Value-sensitive design applied to the Groningen gas controversy in the Netherlands," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 639-648.
    5. Lorenza Antonucci & Carlo D’Ippoliti & Laszlo Horvath & André Krouwel, 2023. "What’s Work Got to Do with It? How Precarity Influences Radical Party Support in France and the Netherlands," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 28(1), pages 110-131, March.
    6. Andres Reiljan & Lorenzo Cicchi & Diego Garzia, 2023. "Party placement in the void: the European political space in 10 years of cross-national Voting Advice Applications," RSCAS Working Papers 2023/20, European University Institute.
    7. Bruinsma Bastiaan, 2020. "Evaluating Visualisations in Voting Advice Applications," Statistics, Politics and Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 11(1), pages 1-21, June.

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