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Semih Çakır

@mascakir.bsky.social
1.5K followers 1.6K following 55 posts

Political scientist at University of Ottawa. Previously at University of Montreal and University of Vienna - I study polarisation, partisanship and democratic citizenship. www.semihcakir.com

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Reposted by Semih Çakır
Miriam Sorace @miriamsorace.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Delighted to be co-chairing the Electoral and Voting Behaviour section @epssnet.bsky.social with the brilliant @carolinaplescia.bsky.social! We welcome papers on the themes below. Have an idea for a Roundtable or Authors Meet Critics session? Contact us! ⏰ 13 Nov. 2026 👉 Call: shorturl.at/CB8Lr
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Alina Vranceanu @alinavranceanu.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
📢 Call for expressions of interest for a 4-years PhD position within my research project ‘Minority rights in an age of immigration: democracy, deservingness and elite influences’. ⏳ Deadline: 9 October. Questions welcome!
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Ruth Dassonneville @rdassonneville.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
‼️ A new paper with Patrick Fournier and @zeynsom.bsky.social is now out in @wepsocial.bsky.social! We examine citizens’ perceptions of parties that combine left/progressive stances on some issues with right/conservative stances on other issues - which we refer to as ideological inconsistency. 🧵
tandfonline.com
Voters’ perceptions of ideologically inconsistent parties
There is a growing consensus in party politics that new fault lines are emerging, and scholars increasingly characterise competition as multidimensional. In a multidimensional space, parties can ad...
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European Journal of Political Research @ejprjournal.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
65:3 🐟️ Who speaks🔉for Europe? 🌍 @mascakir.bsky.social finds that with low turnout, regular voters dominate but could boosting participation could reduce bias in #PolicyRepresentation?
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Do voters and non-voters differ in their policy preferences? | European Journal of Political Research | Cambridge Core
Do voters and non-voters differ in their policy preferences? - Volume 65 Issue 3
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Ruth Dassonneville @rdassonneville.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Had a *great* time talking with @mascakir.bsky.social about our @cpsjournal.bsky.social paper on the behaviour of young voters!
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Semih Çakır @mascakir.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
🎙️ New Reasonably Political Podcast episode! @rdassonneville.bsky.social explains why younger voters are more likely to support left-wing parties in some elections, but not others, and how political parties shape age divides at the ballot box. Tune in for more👇 www.buzzsprout.com/2608748/epis...
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Christina Gahn @christinagahn.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Excited to share our new paper in @thejop.bsky.social with @krausewe.bsky.social! Parties polling just below an electoral threshold are far less likely to clear it: a self-fulfilling prophecy that diminishes when polls communicate uncertainty. 🗳️📊 www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
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Dieter Stiers @dieterstiers.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
🚨New publication (with Shane Singh) in @poqjournal.bsky.social! Proponents of compulsory voting often claim that obligatory turnout will increase citizens' political involvement, equalising levels of democratic attitudes and political engagement in the electorate. But does it? 👇
academic.oup.com
Does Compulsory Voting Improve Democratic Attitudes and Engagement? Quasi-Experimental Evidence from Belgium
Abstract. For over a century, scholars, policymakers, and advocates have argued that compulsory voting not only boosts turnout but also promotes prodemocra
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Ruth Dassonneville @rdassonneville.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
‼️ New paper with Ian McAllister (ANU) out at @respol.bsky.social. We use @ess-survey.bsky.social data to study over-time changes in the association between education and left-right self-placements.
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Semih Çakır @mascakir.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
🎙️ The second episode of the Reasonably Political Podcast is now out! Authentic or Scripted? Why Do Some Politicians Seem More “Real” Than Others and Why Does It Matter? I discuss political authenticity with John Kenny (@johnkenny.bsky.social). 🎧 Listen here: www.buzzsprout.com/2608748/epis...
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Omar Wasow @owasow.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
“Writing is hard.” Thrilled to share that this simple idea led to a new paper in Political Analysis! Where most text methods focus on content, I test if expression is also effortful action. I find simple measures like character counts reveal attitudes and predict voting. cup.org/4cUmoXi 1/
Text as Behavior
Text as Behavior published in Political Analysis

by Omar Wasow

Abstract

Text analysis typically focuses on content—such as sentiment or topic—but expression is also a form of effortful action. Building on this insight, I propose using simple features of open-ended tasks to study text as behavior. This approach treats expression, such as writing, as cognitively, emotionally and temporally “costly” for subjects but inexpensive for researchers. I show basic statistics like the number of characters can approximate effort and significantly improve estimation of quantities of interest, including candidate choice, the probability of turning out to vote and psychological states about which a subject may not be fully aware. Further, these methods can convert nonresponse into informative data; validate survey instruments; serve as mechanism checks; be hard for a subject to “game”; work across different languages and analogize well to real-world situations. In sum, text as behavior can help address a range of issues related to quantifying attitudes and actions.
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Peter Luca Versteegen @versteegenluca.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
🚨 Western democracies are often described as polarized. @katharinalawall.bsky.social, @mtsakiris.bsky.social + I study how polarization actually feels. Now published in @ejprjournal.bsky.social, we asked citizens in 5 European countries to report their emotions ⬇️ www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
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Semih Çakır @mascakir.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
🎙️ Excited to share a new podcast project: Reasonably Political! The goal is to make political science more accessible and connect research to real-world debates. 1/2 🧵
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Semih Çakır @mascakir.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
🚨 New paper with great co-authors (@oguzhan-alkan.bsky.social @rdassonneville.bsky.social @zeynsom.bsky.social) in Political Behavior! How well do citizens perceive where parties stand? 🤔 Open access: rdcu.be/fb83Z
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Semih Çakır @mascakir.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
🚨New blog post 🚨 If fewer people vote, do elections still represent what policies citizens want? I summarize research using data from 29 European democracies on whether voters and non-voters actually differ in their policy preferences and when turnout matters for representation. 1/2
semihcakir.com
Does Low Voter Turnout Matter? Evidence from Europe |
Voters and non-voters in European democracies often hold similar views. But when gaps emerge, they are not trivial and their impact depends on turnout.
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Alessandro Nai @alessandronai.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
After 3 years and 5,322 emails (and counting) our Encyclopedia of Political Communication is finally out at @elgarpublishing.bsky.social 📚 Three volumes ⭐ 431 entries 🎓 581 wonderful authors from across the world A very short 🧵
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Jakob Kasper @jakobkas.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Excited to share a new preprint with @bnbakker.bsky.social, @ylelkes.bsky.social & @gijsschumacher.bsky.social! doi.org/10.31234/osf... Affective polarization research focuses almost exclusively on valence, despite affect having at least two core dimensions. We show that emotional arousal matters!
doi.org
OSF
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Dylan Paltra @dpltr22.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
🚨Publication Alert! My first first-author publication with @msaeltzer.bsky.social and @pluggedchris.bsky.social is out in @polbehavior.bsky.social, which began as my bachelor's thesis. We study how party polarization shapes affective polarization—with a particularly important role of the AfD. (1/7)🧵
Cover page of the article. "Affective States: Cultural and Affective Polarization in a Multilevel-Multiparty System" by Dylan Paltra, Marius Sältzer and Christian Stecker. "Affective Polarization—the growing mutual dislike among partisan groups—has been identified as a major concern in democracies. Although both economic and cultural ideological divides contribute to ideological polarization, their affective consequences can differ. This paper argues that cultural polarization becomes especially consequential when mobilized by far-right parties. Using data from 116 elections in Germany’s 16 states (1990-2023), we combine more than 550 state-level manifestos with more than 150,000 survey responses to examine how party polarization translates into voter affect. Our analyses show that both economic and cultural polarization increase affective divides, but cultural disagreements fuel hostility only in the presence of the Alternative for Germany (AfD). Acting as a cultural entrepreneur, the AfD amplifies the emotional impact of cultural divisions such as immigration, employing affective rhetoric and provoking strong rejection from other parties and voters. These findings highlight the catalytic role of far-right parties in transforming ideological competition into affective polarization."
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European Journal of Political Research @ejprjournal.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
Who speaks🔉for Europe? 🌍 @mascakir.bsky.social finds that with low turnout, regular voters dominate but could boosting participation could reduce bias in #PolicyRepresentation?
buff.ly
Do voters and non-voters differ in their policy preferences? | European Journal of Political Research | Cambridge Core
Do voters and non-voters differ in their policy preferences?
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Isabelle Guinaudeau @iguinaudeau.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
With @elisadeisshelbig.bsky.social, @theresmatthiess.bsky.social, we are designing a survey experiment with low-income Germans 🇩🇪 Survey folks: any tips on reliable institutes, good practices, or any useful approach for harder-to-reach groups? We are really grateful for any hint or experience 🙏
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Florian Foos @florianfoos.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
We have a new tenure-track job in @lsegovernment.bsky.social at AP level (empirical political science, open subfield): jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/... Please apply and share with colleagues who might be interested!
jobs.lse.ac.uk
Assistant Professor in Political Science
Assistant Professor in Political Science, , <p style="text-align: center;"><em><span>LSE is committed to building a diverse, equitable and truly inclusive university</span></em></p> <p style="text-ali...
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Semih Çakır @mascakir.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
Do policy preferences of voters and non-voters differ in European democracies? My new article in @ejprjournal.bsky.social finds: Yes, sometimes, but this is not the norm. Let's break it down. 🧵 1/10
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Laurenz Ennser-Jedenastik @laurenzennser.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
🚨New paper out in @jeppjournal.bsky.social: doi.org/10.1080/1350... @manuelwagner.bsky.social & I re-conceptualize class representation to take into account social mobility between classes and variation in how individuals enter politics.
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Semih Çakır @mascakir.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
Proof that political scientists do leave the conference center. Granville Island, Vancouver - APSA 2025 🇨🇦🍁
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Semih Çakır @mascakir.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
Very happy to share that this paper from my PhD dissertation is now published in print. It tackles a question central to my research: How much can parties actually shape the opinions of their supporters? Results suggest their leeway might be more limited than often assumed!
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Semih Çakır @mascakir.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
The lowest point of my research career? Not impostor syndrome. Not rejection letters. Not even Reviewer 2. It’s Qualtrics hiking fees, my uni pulling the plug… and QuestionPro.
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Semih Çakır @mascakir.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
I strongly recommend this!👇🏻 Ruth is truly one of the most inspiring scholars I know and she is definitely a super supportive supervisor!
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Marta Vukovic @martav.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Doing important things at @epsanet.bsky.social …like locating the one veg canapé at the reception 👀 @stawi-univie.bsky.social @bseisl.bsky.social @mkaltenegger.bsky.social @alexanderdalheimer.bsky.social @marvins.bsky.social @elenaheinz.bsky.social @mascakir.bsky.social @thomasmmeyer.bsky.social
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Institut für Staatswissenschaft / Department of Government @stawi-univie.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
From 26 to 28 June 2025, the 15th Annual Conference of the European Political Science Association will take place in Madrid, Spain. Many of our colleagues will attend the conference and present their research. #EPSA2025. The presenters are: 🧵 1/3
The schedule of the presenters from the EPSA2025
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Peter Luca Versteegen @versteegenluca.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Recs for #EPSA2025 schedule: THU, 1.10-2.50, in 0A.05: I’ll chair a panel on conceptual issues in affective polarization, feat. @luismremiro.bsky.social, @mascakir.bsky.social, Mickael Temporão, @fghjorth.bsky.social, plus present work w @katharinalawall.bsky.social + @mtsakiris.bsky.social
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Ruth Dassonneville @rdassonneville.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
I'm recruiting 2 PhD researchers to work with me on a project studying how social groups influence vote choices! Info on the position and how to apply 👉 www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jo... Please share with interested students who would like to move to beautiful Leuven!
kuleuven.be
2 PhD positions in Electoral behavior
2 PhD positions to research how social group memberships become connected to vote choices
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West European Politics @wepsocial.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
Online first: "Lipset and Rokkan meet data: the electoral structuring of traditional cleavages, 1870–1967" by Vincenco Emanuele & Bruno Marino. doi.org/10.1080/0140... Part of the forthcoming Special Issue "Cleavage Politics in Western Democracies"
Abstract of the article "Lipset and Rokkan meet data: the electoral structuring of traditional cleavages, 1870–1967" by Vincenzo Emanuele and Bruno Marino. Published online first in West European Politics.Figure 1, displaying a simplified, dynamic model of cleavage electoral structuring.Figure 2, displaying the evolution over time of electoral structuring for the four cleavages.Figure 3, displaying the determinants of cleavage electoral structuring.
Note: Prais-Winsten regression with panel-corrected standard errors (PCSE) regressions. All variables displayed in the figure have been standardised. Confidence intervals set at p < 0.05.
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Ruth Dassonneville @rdassonneville.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
Super happy to share this new paper with @zeynsom.bsky.social and Patrick Fournier, out now in JEPOP! We study how the accuracy of citizens' perceptions of parties' issue positions depends on the importance they attach to the issue. See Zeynep's 🧵 for an overview of our findings!
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Stuart Turnbull-Dugarte @turnbulldugarte.com · 19/05/2025
A Tinder Test of Democratic Norms💋 New paper in @thejop.bsky.social with @bertous.bsky.social We rely on a visual conjoint experiment, cross-sectional data, & panel data to show that affective polarization drives the normalisation of the far right among the centre-right 🇬🇧🇪🇸 doi.org/10.1086/736698
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Semih Çakır @mascakir.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
First, I need every country jury to submit a 500-word essay, APA style, citing relevant music theory to justify their votes. Second, do we have access to raw audience vote count per country? Finally, I thought I'd never ditch my flat white, but it's espresso macchiato from now on. Loyalty is earned.
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Semih Çakır @mascakir.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
👇🏻
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Semih Çakır @mascakir.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
I probably relate to this quote more than I should.
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Ruth Dassonneville @rdassonneville.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
Incredibly happy to share that I received funding through the FWO Odysseus program for the SOCIOVOTE project! Over the next five years, I’ll be examining how social groups think politically, and study the processes through which groups and group identities become politicized.
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Katharina Lawall @katharinalawall.bsky.social · 01/12/2023
🚨Do echo chambers polarize? Yes! 🚨Very excited that our paper “The Polarizing Effect of Partisan Echo Chambers” w @sarahobolt.bsky.social and James Tilley has been published FirstView at APSR! Link: www.cambridge.org/core/journal... Thread 👇1/n
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Semih Çakır @mascakir.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Schnitzel and great company (@rdassonneville.bsky.social @zeynsom.bsky.social )—can’t go wrong! Always such a pleasure to catch up with these two amazing mentors 🍽️🍾
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Semih Çakır @mascakir.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
Le discours de Trudeau sur la réponse du Canada aux tarifs américains est peut-être tout simplement son meilleur ! 🇨🇦 🍁
youtu.be
Trudeau: Canada will retaliate with 25% tariffs on $155B of U.S. goods
YouTube video by CBC News
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Julia Partheymüller @schnizzl.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
🚨Neue Studie: Prekäre Arbeitsverhältnisse an Österreichs Universitäten 📊 >2.300 befragte Wissenschafter:innen 🏛️ 22 Universitäten 📖 Zusammenfassung & Link zur Studie: www.nuwiss.at/nuwiss-studi... 📰 Bericht in Profil: www.profil.at/oesterreich/... 🔽 Langer Thread #ichbinhanna @nuwiss.bsky.social
nuwiss.at
NUWiss-Studie zu prekären Beschäftigungsverhältnisse an österreichischen Universitäten - Netzwerk Unterbau Wissenschaft
Eine in Kooperation mit NUWiss enstandene neue Studie beleuchtet die Beschäftigungssituation von Mittelbau-Angehörigen an österreichischen Universitäten. Die Befragung von über 2.300 wissenschaftliche...
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Semih Çakır @mascakir.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
🚨 Does elite ideological polarization lead to mass ideological polarization? My latest article in European Journal of Political Research provides **limited** evidence that it is the case. Let's break it down. 🧵
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Ruth Dassonneville @rdassonneville.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Time to share some big professional news! After 9 amazing years at @umontreal.ca, I am moving back home. From January onwards, I am taking up a professorship at @kuleuvenuniversity.bsky.social. I am excited and looking forward to the new challenge. But I’m also sad to leave an amazing department.
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Catherine E. de Vries @catherinedevries.bsky.social · 28/11/2024
Check out this great presentation by Bocconi PhD @bogatyrev.bsky.social next week on the electoral consequences of state-sponsored homophobia ⤵️
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Semih Çakır @mascakir.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
🏳️‍🌈🇨🇦🗳️ 👇🏼
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Ruth Dassonneville @rdassonneville.bsky.social · 26/08/2024
Do sexual minorities participate more in politics? Using Canadian data, our analyses indicate that yes, sexual minorities participate more, especially in non-institutionalized forms of participation! with @jfdaoust.bsky.social, Semih Çakir and Mélyann Guévremont. 🔗 doi.org/10.1177/2053...
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Manifesto Project @manifestoproj.bsky.social · 20/11/2023
We proudly introduce manifestoberta, a multilingual xlm-roberta-large model fine-tuned on ~1,6 m. annotated statements of the Manifesto Corpus (2023a). Find it here: manifesto-project.wzb.eu/information/... and also on huggingface.co/manifesto-pr.... A thread 🧵:
manifesto-project.wzb.eu
Manifesto Project Database
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West European Politics @wepsocial.bsky.social · 08/11/2023
Online first: "Do more inclusive parties change less? Intraparty democracy and programmatic change" by Sofia Marini doi.org/10.1080/0140... Polisky
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Alex Coppock @aecoppock.bsky.social · 31/10/2023
Friends, please encourage your students to consider a pre-doctoral fellowship with me working on meta-analyses of political science experiments. I promise a good trade of money and skills in exchange for effort and time! tobin.yale.edu/opportunitie...
Position description: The goal of this project is to produce generalizable answers to social scientific questions through ``meta-reanalysis,'' a design in which original study datasets are re-analyzed using standardized tools and the resulting re-analyses are formally synthesized through meta-analysis. Building on the Coppock's previous meta-analytic work on persuasion, candidate choice, and discrimination, this project seeks to establish the external validity of research findings in select literatures, including for a start, the experimental record on the effects of group cues and perspective taking.

The key contribution of this project is the approach to the generalizability problem, the concern that the results of any particular study might not travel to other contexts and times. The lab's design- based approach is grounded in the principles of commensurability, transparency, and collaboration.REQUISITE SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS:

The main tasks will fall into three categories:

1.     Data cleaning and preparation. All-data related tasks will be done in R, in the "tidyverse" style, so familiarity with R and tidyverse coding is preferred.

2.     Design-aware literature review. We only include primary studies that adhere to particular designs, so exposure to and familiarity with experimental designs in political science is preferred.

3.     Data collection via communication with primary study authors. We need to ask primary study authors to share their data with us, which requires a polite and prompt emailing style.
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