The advent of the Internet has opened wholly new possibilities for data collecting. At the same time, several unanswered methodological pitfalls are present, possibly questioning the usability of data from web surveys. This article contributes to the scientific debate regarding the usability and reliability of web surveys in the social sciences by discussing the reliability of the data collected in passive sampling web surveys. The article analyzes two surveys containing the same questions, of which the first is based on a probabilistic offline sample, the other on a passive sampling online sample. Both surveys were aimed at measuring the respondents' knowledge of politics. The findings related to the demographic characteristics were in-line with previous research: men, young, better educated, and politically interested persons dominated the online sample. Regarding the reliability of the results of the knowledge questions, the findings show that online surveys are capable of providing valuable and reliable information about the differences (and similarities) between different groups of respondents, that is, about general trends. However, the findings strongly suggest that passive sampling web surveys should not be used for drawing conclusions about the absolute levels of political knowledge in a population. The big question which remains is whether the Internet can be seen as just another sampling environment or does the ''unstructured anonymity'' of the Internet require tapping into a wholly new sampling methodology.
Semanttinen parlamentti -hankkeessa 2020–2022 luodaan eduskunnan tietokannoista ja niihin liittyvistä muista aineistoista uudenlainen linkitetyn avoimen datan (Linked Open Data, LOD) palvelu, tietoinfrastruktuuri ja semanttinen portaali Parlamenttisampo – eduskunta semanttisessa webissä, joiden avulla tutkitaan poliittista kulttuuria ja kieltä. Dataa linkittämällä voi-daan rikastaa eduskuntadataa muilla tietolähteillä kuten biografisella tiedolla, terminologioilla ja lainsäädännön dokumenteilla. Parlamenttisampo on kieli- ja semanttisen webin teknologioihin perustuva palvelukokonaisuus tutkijoita, kansalaisia, mediaa ja valtionhallintoa varten. Artikkelissa esitellään hankkeen visio, ensimmäisiä tuloksia ja niiden hyödyntämismahdollisuuksia: Eduskunnan kaikkien täysistuntojen 1907–2021 yli 900 000 puheesta on valmistunut linkitetyn datan tietämysgraafi (knowledge graph); data on myös saatavilla XML-muodossa, jossa hyödynnetään uutta kansainvälistä Parla-CLARIN-formaattia. Ensimmäistä kertaa eduskunnan puheiden koko aikasarja on muunnettu dataksi ja datapalveluksi yhtenäisessä muodossa. Lisäksi puheet on yhdistetty eduskunnan kansanedustajien tietokannasta luotuun ja muista tietolähteistä rikastettuun toiseen tietämysgraafiin laajemmaksi ontologiaperustaiseksi datapalveluksi Fin- Parla. Datapalvelua voidaan käyttää eduskuntatutkimukseen parlamentaarisesta ja edustuksel-lisesta kulttuurista sekä poliittisen kielen käytöstä analysoimalla kansanedustajien täysistunnoissa pitämiä puheita ja poliitikkojen verkostoja data-analyysin keinoin. Palvelun rajapinnan avulla voidaan myös kehittää eri käyttäjäryhmille sovelluksia, kuten hankkeessa valmistuva Parlamenttisampo.fi-portaali.
In mainstream analyses of the German political system, the emergence of the Left Party (Die Linke) is presented as an unexpected consequence of German unification and as an indication of the existence of an East-West divide. This view is for the most part based on the idea that German unification is a process of political integration of the East into the West. Such an understanding, however, downplays the long-term developments in the German party system. This article examines the emergence of the Left Party in light of both the long-term developmental tendencies of the German party system and findings from comparative studies among other West European countries. The article concludes that the main reason for the current political stalemate is the incapability of the postwar Volksparteien to respond to changes in political space and action. Based on evidence from comparative studies, the article also suggests a pragmatic rethinking especially in the SPD is necessary in dealings with the Left Party.
Revolutions need people. How do these people connect with each other, and how can the revolutionary message pass from one person to another? This article aims to answer these questions by examining the revolutionaries who participated in the Finnish Civil War on the rebellious Red side in 1918. We have chosen Red women from a particular district in Finland in order to analyse their connections and the networks created by membership of the labour movement, place of residence, and kinship. In order to see the layers of those connections, we utilize historical social network analysis rooted in digital history. This allows us to observe the significance and impact of regional, social networks and improves our understanding of structural factors affecting the intra-group dynamics among these revolutionary women. Our results support the claim that historical network analysis is a suitable tool for exploring interaction patterns and social structures in the past, and to gain new insights into historical phenomena.
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