Network maps and congressional frames: Analyzing bill titles as a field of conflict

Biava, Ryan

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/42050 Copy

Description

Title

Network maps and congressional frames: Analyzing bill titles as a field of conflict

Author(s)

Biava, Ryan

Issue Date

2013-02

Keyword(s)

• internet
• legislation
• network analysis
• language
• Congress
• research methods
• qualitative data analysis
• quantitative data analysis

Abstract

What can we learn about how Members of Congress (MCs) frame the regulation and uses of the Internet by analyzing how they entitle legislation they sponsor that contains the word ‘Internet’? Existing literatures on framing argue that MCs, as policy entrepreneurs, utilize fields of public and official discourse available to them to manage conflict within the Congress. Current empirical research of MCs’ public communications focuses on long-established and new mediums of communication. This project, however, is interested in a medium of communication available to MCs, but which has received scant attention: the short-titles of legislation they sponsor. Using network analysis of a database of all legislation containing the word ‘Internet’ from 1994 to 2009 (N=1,170), this project finds that certain terms co-occur more frequently than others, and that the overall structure of co-occurrence demonstrates a coherent deployment of language by MCs along two dimensions: the protection and administration of society.

Publisher

iSchools

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/42050

DOI

https://doi.org/10.9776/13350

Copyright and License Information

Copyright © 2013 is held by the authors. Copyright permissions, when appropriate, must be obtained directly from the authors.

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