Robert K. Goidel

Understanding citizen perceptions of science controversy: bridging the ethnographic—survey research divide

Using the contemporary debate in the United States over embryonic stem cell research as a test case, we outline a theoretical framework that points to the central impact of value predispositions, schema, political knowledge, and forms of mass media use in shaping public perceptions of science. In the process, by proposing an alternative approach to the dominant science literacy model, we address the existing divide between survey-based and ethnographic studies. Analyzing nationally representative survey data collected in the US in the fall of 2003, our findings suggest that value predispositions related to Christian conservatism and social ideology, along with schema related to abortion and reservations about science, serve as primary influences on citizen evaluations of embryonic stem cell research and therapeutic cloning, while our measure of issue-specific political knowledge had no statistically significant impact. In addition, after all controls, attention to newspaper coverage along with various forms of genre-specific entertainment television use have unique influences on citizen evaluations, suggesting that the mass media provide an important part of the social context by which citizens judge controversial science. Other survey results since our data collection in 2003 lend support to our findings. Religious and ideological values appear to filter the influence of information disseminated by scientific institutions. We conclude by discussing future research that connects findings from ethnographic studies with survey-based approaches.

Participation Rates, Socioeconomic Class Biases, and Congressional Elections: A Crossvalidation

Theory: Recently, Leighley and Nagler (1992) presented evidence indicating that class biases in voter turnout remained relatively stable across presidential elections from 1960 through 1988. Nevertheless, few investigations test for class biases (or the stability of class biases) in midterm congressional elections. Given that presidential elections are such high-intensity affairs (Campbell 1993) some lower-class citizens likely participate in presidential elections as a result of the sheer salience of the campaign but may be less likely to be mobilized in the lower intensity midterm elections. Consequently, we might expect to find evidence of an increase in class bias in the shrinking congressional electorate rather than in the shrinking presidential electorate. Hypothesis: Class biases in voter turnout have not substantially increased since the 1960s. Methods: A demographic model of voter turnout is used in order to isolate the marginal impact of income on voter turnout across election years using the American National Election Studies 1958-94 and the Current Population Surveys 1974-94. Results: While class biases in any specific election are great (higher socioeconomic groups comprise the majority of voters) such biases appear to have remained relatively stable over time. The declining rates of turnout since the early 1960s have occurred among all segments of society, not just among the lower classes.

The Vanishing Marginals, the Bandwagon, and the Mass Media

We investigate the degree to which exposure to the mass media results in an increased likelihood to vote for the incumbent (or the winner in open-seat races). We also present experimental evidence demonstrating the influence of electoral expectations in individual--level voting decisions.

A Systems Approach To Campaign Finance in U.S. House Elections

Previous research on campaign financing has been hampered by the persistence of the simultaneity problem. In this article the authors attempt to overcome this problem by specifying a comprehensive simultaneous model of congressional elections. Specifically, equations determining challenger political quality, candidate expenditures, and electoral outcomes are theoretically derived and then estimated as a single equation system. Overall, this comprehensive simultaneous model fits the data relatively well. More importantly, the authors find that incumbent expenditures exert a significant impact on electoral outcomes. The marginal impact of incumbent spending is not, however, the same for all incumbents. Specifically, first-term incumbents receive a much larger marginal return on their expenditures than do multiterm incumbents. In fact, the marginal return on spending by first-term incumbents rivals the marginal return on spending by challengers.

News Organizations and Information Gathering During a Natural Disaster: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina

News organizations are uniquely situated to gather and transmit information during times of natural disaster, which can help citizens and policy-makers understand the scope, causes, and consequences of the unfolding disaster. Yet, news organizations are also subject to institutional biases that may lead to distorted presentations of reality and that perpetuate misinformation, stereotypes, and misunderstanding. In this article, we utilize examples from Hurricane Katrina to critically examine the role of the television news media during natural disasters. We contend that the institutional characteristics of news organizations are invaluable in the reporting of ‘breaking news’ and developments on the ground but hinder their ability to gather contextually rich information on the causes and consequences of natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina.

The Impact of State Campaign Finance Laws

We compare spending in concurrent senate and gubernatorial elections to determine if campaign finance laws influence candidate campaign spending. We find that candidate-based public financing combined with spending limits influence candidate spending, but the effect is largely dependent on the level of the limits. We find that contribution limits do not influence candidate spending. If the goal of reform is to reduce candidate spending—or to affect electoral competition or voter turnout by reducing candidate spending—our results suggest that state public financing is more likely to be successful than contributions limits.

Reconsidering the 'Myths and Realities' of Campaign Finance Reform

Our analysis uses simulations to consider the likely impact of campaign finance reform on electoral outcomes and electoral competitiveness. The analysis improves upon previous research by both utilizing more than a single econometric model as a basis for the simulations and utilizing a wide range of campaign finance scenarios. Conclusions as to the likely impact campaign finance reform has on electoral competitiveness rely on the model employed and the type of campaign finance reform considered.

Taking Credit and Avoiding Blame: Good News, Spin Control, and Democratic Accountability

Relying on experimental methodology, we find that positive and negative reports of specific aspects of the economy influence the audiences assessments of political responsibility for the state of ...

The Net Impact of Media Exposure on Individual Voting Decisions in U.S. Senate and House Elections

We examine the impact of media exposure in United States Senate and House elections and find that high levels of media exposure are associated with an increased likelihood that individual respondents will vote for House incumbents. In addition, we find that the effects of media exposure in Senate elections are mediated by challenger political quality. We also find that, within House elections, media exposure appears to have its most dramatic impact among independents and similar partisans.

The President and Congress as Sources in Television News Coverage of the National Debt

A content analysis of the Vanderbilt Television News Abstracts of stories dealing with the national debt between January 1990 and December 1993 advances our understanding of media coverage of political issues. By focusing on a single issue it permits analyzing coverage over a longer period than earlier studies. This permits deeper analysis of the differences in coverage accorded to the House and the Senate. The findings confirm the general consensus that the media focus overwhelmingly on the President, but shows that on the issue of national debt the House received more coverage than the Senate.