These sources give you a decent start on your project, which will examine how often elected presidents follow through on promises they make during the campaign.
The first reading may of limited use for two reasons: one, it seems to be examining European elections, although I may be mistaken about that because the data set used is not clearly delineated. Two, and more importantly, it is a highly technical political science paper which neither Tom or I have the ability to assess. If you have the mathematical skills to bring the arguments in this paper to bear on your project, that’s fine, but my instinct is that it may not be of much use.
The second reading — “Predicting Presidential Performance…” — should be of more direct use. This article studies elections from 1912-1972 and asks many of the same questions and uses many of the same methods that might guide your project. This article is that it was written in 1980, and you might see your project as a response to the article 30+ years later. Do the conclusions of this article still hold up? Have the kinds of promises that candidates make changed? Has their responsiveness to the electorate when in office changed? You might think about choosing three elections since 1972 and applying the methods and questions used in this piece to those elections, all while keeping in mind how you might use the tools that we’re studying in class to represent your data and findings.
In short– each member of your group should read this second essay closely, and discuss how it might help you shape your project.
The third and fourth sources — Politifact — will be useful for the current election and administration. You’ll want to compare Politifact as a resource to other fact checking organizations. Is it reputable? Reliable? Do they differ in their conclusions? Then, you might use some of the methods that guide their work on this site to guide how you frame the questions you asked of earlier elections.
Tatsiana · October 16, 2012 at 19:50:05 · →
Thank you for clarification. We will look for better sources.
pb126347 · October 16, 2012 at 20:11:55 · →
Thanks for the suggestions. I agree on the Politifact, i thought there interesting sites that is one of the main reasons i suggested the source and i will definitely research it’s reliability.
Hi Group Two:
These sources give you a decent start on your project, which will examine how often elected presidents follow through on promises they make during the campaign.
The first reading may of limited use for two reasons: one, it seems to be examining European elections, although I may be mistaken about that because the data set used is not clearly delineated. Two, and more importantly, it is a highly technical political science paper which neither Tom or I have the ability to assess. If you have the mathematical skills to bring the arguments in this paper to bear on your project, that’s fine, but my instinct is that it may not be of much use.
The second reading — “Predicting Presidential Performance…” — should be of more direct use. This article studies elections from 1912-1972 and asks many of the same questions and uses many of the same methods that might guide your project. This article is that it was written in 1980, and you might see your project as a response to the article 30+ years later. Do the conclusions of this article still hold up? Have the kinds of promises that candidates make changed? Has their responsiveness to the electorate when in office changed? You might think about choosing three elections since 1972 and applying the methods and questions used in this piece to those elections, all while keeping in mind how you might use the tools that we’re studying in class to represent your data and findings.
In short– each member of your group should read this second essay closely, and discuss how it might help you shape your project.
The third and fourth sources — Politifact — will be useful for the current election and administration. You’ll want to compare Politifact as a resource to other fact checking organizations. Is it reputable? Reliable? Do they differ in their conclusions? Then, you might use some of the methods that guide their work on this site to guide how you frame the questions you asked of earlier elections.
Thank you for clarification. We will look for better sources.
Thanks for the suggestions. I agree on the Politifact, i thought there interesting sites that is one of the main reasons i suggested the source and i will definitely research it’s reliability.