The effect of black congressional representation on political participation. Making Elections Accessible and Meaningful Providing Incentives for Conciliation Facilitating Stable and Efficient Government Holding the Government Accountable Holding Individual Representatives Accountable Encouraging Political Parties Promoting Legislative Opposition and Oversight Making the Election Process Workable and Sustainable (2012). Heres what we know. tees, and voters weigh the pros and cons of descriptive representation, this analysis argues for attention to the specific historical contexts that make descrip- . In her classic work The Concept of Representation, Hanna Pitkin establishes four aspects of representation: formalistic, substantive, descriptive, and symbolic (Pitkin 1967).. Scholars normally define substantive representation as having one's policy views expressed by an elected . - 167.99.130.146. Instead, descriptive representation is the extent to which a representative or legislative body resembles a given constituent and her social or demographic identities. More gridlock, instead of less, can be created, especially if more than two parties are involved in the coalition. Even so, there is also the possibility of obtaining qualitative data. The article concludes with a discussion on the important avenues for future research as the level of diversity in Congress increases and more . Proportional Representations Pros and Cons. Like all different types of research, descriptive research has both advantages and disadvantages. Advantages and disadvantages of descriptive research. Horizontal Communication It is discussed in this paper as a means to enhance the declining legitimacy of Dutch works councils as important sites of democratic decision-making in their own right. RT @Kennedy_School: According to a recent study by @HKS_PeopleLab researchers, including HKS's @ElizabethLinos, government communications c, Join @ipinst @swiss_un & @INTGenderChamps for a discussion on Using Innovation & Technology to Ad. They basically consist of making a description of the variables to be measured in a phenomenon, and analyzing the incidence at the time that event occurs. Although, when obtaining data on the variables, it is possible to make forecasts, these are not entirely reliable, since they are considered premature. American Politics Research, 43, 144169. Constituency, party, and representation in Congress. The advantages of descriptive research include that it is easy to conduct, can be used to gather large amounts of data, and can provide a baseline for future research. 5. Tate, K. (2001). Congress in black and white. For the case of the design of a descriptive investigation, most of the time it is necessary to obtain data that refers to the quantity. Overby, L. M., Brown, R. D., Bruce, J. M., Smith, C. E, Jr., & Winkle, J. W, III. (Babbie, 2008), The type of research design that is used during this research is known as qualitative research. Thu., Mar. 79 John F. Kennedy Street In the profession of Psychology, watching people, animals, possessions in an environment are called observation. For terms and use, please refer to our Terms and Conditions The research design is used to draw up the work plan to follow in the research. Of particular importance is whether substantive or descriptive representation are necessary to create symbolic representation and perceptions that government outcomes are fair and legitimate. At the same time, greater inclusion can also lead toward higher levels of extremism within the government, while encouraging more gridlock if the political parties are unable to find a pathway toward compromise. (1999). This type of research is often used in the social sciences, but can be used in other disciplines as well. Another benefit of descriptive research is that it enables you to determine the behavior of people in a natural setting. The research can utilize methods such as surveys, observation, field experiments, interviews and number analysis. Descriptive representation describes the extent to which public officials reflect the demographic composition of the constituents that they serve. If a voter knows that their candidate is polling 20 points behind, then voting for that candidate is essentially a wasted vote. Symbols and the world system: National anthems and flags. Article Sharing a racial identity with a member of Congress can also increase the likelihood of aconstituent contactingtheir member of Congress. (2015). It can be an unstable form of government. 4. Should blacks represent blacks and women represent women? Descriptive designs -the current state of affairs, Provides a relatively complete picture, does not assess relationships among variables Experimental - impact on experimental manipulations on a dependent variable, Allows drawing of conclusions, Cannot experimentally manipulate many important variables, Descriptive research, this will not answer questions like how, when, why it has happened. One area of the voting experience that has received little attention isdescriptive representation. Casework. Get rigorous, evidence-based strategies to advance gender equity right in your inbox. The advantages to his method are; realistic natural behaviours, low demand characteristics, can generate new ideas for research and test existing findings. For example, those living in diverse communities might find 5 black representatives too low, whereas those living in homogeneous white communities might find 5 black representatives too high. In the following paragraphs, I will describe the behavior I wished to observe in my chosen laboratory, the results that I obtained, and I will have provided a detailed explanation of my observation method used. Statistical inference, on the other hand, consists of the methods involved . Tomorrow at @BelferCenter: MEI Senior Fellow Dr. Ghadeer Aseri will discuss issues of gender & inequality in the MENA region with MEI Senior Fellow and former Prime Minister of Tunisia Dr. Youssef Chahed. According to CIRT, qualitative research studies can provide you with details about human behavior, emotions, and personality characteristic. 2. It reduces the effects of extremism in politics. village 201 new townhomes by alliance development virginia palmer elementary school staff. Polit Behav 39, 3150 (2017). 3. (1995). The effect of descriptive representation on the relationship between citizens and their government. Public Opinion Quarterly, 45(1), 91. Canada, France, and India join the U.S. and the United Kingdom as being an alternative structure. Why people obey the law: Procedural justice, legitimacy, and compliance. This article will briefly describe each of these methods, their advantages, and their drawbacks. That structure makes it easier for extremist views to find official representation. We would also like to thank attendees at Vanderbilts Experimental Methods Speaker Series as well as anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. The Symbolic Benefits of Descriptive and Substantive Representation. Descriptive research is used to gain information about behavior. The scholarship published in The Journal of Politics is theoretically innovative and methodologically diverse, and comprises a blend of the various intellectual approaches that make up the discipline. Bridgett King recently presented a paper at the 2018 annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association entitled, Descriptive Representation in Election Administration: Poll Workers and Voter Confidence. Here, Professor King summarizes her analysis from that paper. It can only describe a situation and cannot explain why something is happening. II. Desposato, S., & Norrander, B. In addition, it obtains information on the phenomenon or situation to be studied, using techniques such as observation and survey, among others. For more information, please visit our GAP Land Acknowledgement resource page. Law and Society Review, 22, 103. helvetia 20 franc gold coin 1947 value; pros and cons of descriptive representation. However, it is important to understand its limitations and when it is most appropriate to use. To obtain quantitative information, statistical and numerical study methodologies are used, where information about values such as weight, scale and years, among others, is obtained. Advantages and disadvantages of descriptive research. Since subjects are randomly assigned to conditions and we have good balance on demographic items across treatment conditions, we are not particularly concerned about potential confounds. Scherer, N., & Curry, B. Bridgett Kingis an associate professor and Director of the Master of Public Administration Program at Auburn University. More is better: The influence of collective female descriptive representation on external efficacy. Through rigorous research, we offer gender insights into work, politics, and conflict that have the potential to reduce or eliminate barriers so all people can fulfill their life aspirations unconstrained by gender bias. Some of the most important are listed below. In some cases, representation can seem to have very little to do with the substantive issues representatives in Congress tend to debate. Document Cited authorities 1 Cited in Related. American Politics Quarterly, 25(1), 118133. Descriptive research does not rely on only one type of data; it relies on both quantitative and qualitative research. Constituency influence in Congress. Race and turnout: Does descriptive representation in state legislatures increase minority voting? Descriptive statistics on the dependent variables can be found in the Appendix (Supplementary material). (1975). The political representation of blacks in Congress: Does race matter? Descriptive representation is hotly contested. 17 Pivotal Hydroelectricity Pros and Cons, 18 Major Advantages and Disadvantages of the Payback Period, 20 Advantages and Disadvantages of Leasing a Car, 19 Advantages and Disadvantages of Debt Financing, 24 Key Advantages and Disadvantages of a C Corporation, 16 Biggest Advantages and Disadvantages of Mediation, 18 Advantages and Disadvantages of a Gated Community, 17 Big Advantages and Disadvantages of Focus Groups, 17 Key Advantages and Disadvantages of Corporate Bonds, 19 Major Advantages and Disadvantages of Annuities, 17 Biggest Advantages and Disadvantages of Advertising. Due to the relatively small number of African Americans in our sample, we report 90% confidence intervals throughout for both white and black subjects. What is procedural justice-criteria used by citizens to assess the fairness of legal procedures. The brevity by which descriptive investigations are carried out means that their costs are not high, compared to other types of investigations. Here are some of the most important characteristics of descriptive research: In descriptive research, the researcher has no control over any of the variables that affect the event or problem under investigation. 1999 The University of Chicago Press Descriptive research is a powerful tool that can be used to gain insights into a particular subject. Problems to select a suitable method: Information can be . Gender & Conflict Gender Action Portal Course Hero is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university. Schwindt-Bayer, L. A., & Mishler, W. (2005). This is the case for women who remain numerically under-represented in legislatures around the world, but also ethnic minority groups, and other minorities. the six voting members of the House being women. However the disadvantages are; lack of control of variables, observer bias, limited to public places or certain types of behaviours, which may create ethical issues. Black faces in the mirror: African Americans and their representatives in the US Congress. Also the data collected from the observed can be completely different from all other naturalistic observation in which would mean that the data is more or less, Naturalistic observation is observing behavior in an open, relaxed environment. The Journal of Politics Supporters of descriptive representation anticipate that descriptive representatives behave in distinct ways through which they are able to provide better substantive representation than non-descriptive representatives. Indiana University, 210 Woodburn Hall, 1100 East Seventh Street, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA, University of California, Merced, 5200 North Lake Road, Merced, CA, 95343, USA, You can also search for this author in In 2022, HKS doctoral student Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman published a critically acclaimed collection, The Black Agenda. Kuklinski, J. H. (1978). In this paper, we employ a novel experimental design to investigate how citizens feel about the relative importance of descriptive and substantive representation. 4612. These proportional representation pros and cons have certain benefits that allow for greater inclusion and variety. American Political Science Review, 90, 794812. Book In addition, it allows obtaining data, or information, of the quantitative or qualitative type: Using the case study it is possible to carry out a slightly more detailed analysis of the event, as well as to study in detail groups or subjects separately. Naturalistic Observation observing people in their natural setting. To investigate this, we also ran an identical treatment on an MTurk sample that allowed us to identify subjects zip codes. Although this research is highly accurate, it does not gather the causes behind a situation.