Using Media-Based Data in Studies of Politics

Abstract

Political scientists have made broad use of data that are drawn from media sources. These data tend to be of two kinds: measures of the volume of media attention to an issue, or counts of events reported in the media for which there is no other systematic data source. With increasing access to full-text data archives, there will be many more opportunities for scholars to create data. This paper reviews a number of issues having to do with potential bias and error in such data. Some practical solutions are described, and a data series having to do with monetary policy is used to illustrate how to probe for the validity of a events count. olitical scientists have often used media reports-usually print media-as the basis for data on important aspects of politics and the policy process. Many scholars drawing on data sets for measures of coups, riots, demonstrations, elections, and other political events (e.g., Polity III and the World Handbook of Political and Social Indicators) are utilizing data originally drawn from newspaper accounts. We rely extensively on media-based event With the growing availability of computerized text retrieval systems, one can anticipate even more use of such indicators in the future. It is a propitious moment to review the issues raised by these data. We use counts extensively, and we probably should do so more often, especially in studies of public policy. For example, many conceptions of the policy process suggest that changing beliefs, expectations, or information of critical actors may be associated with changes in policy outcomes and outputs. Mobilizing support often depends on generating favorable media attention. Media accounts provide information on these variables over time and over political jurisdictions. I examine problems scholars confront when using event counts. Scholars may easily go astray exploiting these opportunities, and using online sources does not appear to be a panacea. Many problems do not have a simple and direct solution; for others, additional empirical research may help. Here I draw broadly on research dealing with media data (see also Franzosi 1987 and Kaufman, Dykers, and Caldwell 1993). Although scholars in foreign policy and comparative politics have often examined the problems of event counts, few scholars in American politics and public policy refer to that work. I shall also analyze a data series involving U.S. monetary policy, showing with a real example how scholars can probe the validity of data.