Suchergebnisse

SCHOLARLY UNDERSTANDING OF THE BEHAVIOR OF ELECTORS REMAINS STRAIT-JACKETED BY THE NATURE OF THE DATA. ON ONE HAND, SCHOLARS HAVE EXTENSIVE DATA ABOUT INDIVIDUAL ELECTORS, COLLECTED IN NATIONAL ELECTION SURVEYS. ON THE OTHER, THEY HAVE DATA ABOUT COLLECTIVITIES, DERIVED FROM SUCH OFFICIAL SOURCES AS NATIONAL CENSUSES AND CONSTITUENCY ELECTION RETURNS. THUS, ELECTORAL RESEARCHERS WOULD APPEAR TO ENJOY A SURFEIT OF RICHES. THE REALITY, HOWEVER, IS A PERSISTING DIVIDE BETWEEN TWO MODES OF EXPLANATION: MICRO-LEVEL MODELS USING SURVEY DATA AND MACRO-LEVEL MODELS USING ECOLOGICAL DATA. READ ALONGSIDE EACH OTHER, THESE MODELS AT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF ANALYSIS YIELD DIVERGENT RATHER THAN COMPREHENSIVE ACCOUNTS OF ELECTORAL BEHAVIOR.