Voters' information behaviour when using political actors' web sites during the 2011 Scottish Parliament election campaign.

Purpose “ The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a study of voters' online behaviour conducted during the 2011 Scottish parliamentary election campaign. Design/methodology/approach “ The study used an interactive, electronically-assisted interview method, where 64 citizens were observed and questioned while they searched for, browsed and used information on the web sites and social media sites of political parties and candidates standing for election to the Scottish Parliament. Findings “ While online campaign sites were generally regarded as serving a useful purpose, as being easy to use and understand, relatively interesting and likely to be visited again, there was very little evidence in this study to indicate that they had any significant impact on voting behaviour during the 2011 Scottish campaign. Rather, the participants' comments suggest that more traditional information sources, particularly print and broadcast media, coupled with long-established campaign techniques, such as leaflet deliveries and door knocking, continue to be more influential in determining Scottish voters' democratic choices. Research limitations/implications “ The paper presents results obtained from a sample of 64 citizens of North-east Scotland. As such, the authors would lay no claims to the results of the study being applicable outwith the Scottish setting. Practical implications “ The findings have implications for those candidates successfully elected to the Scottish Parliament, who may have to significantly modify their information practices on entering parliament. The study also has implications for the broader, international, political and information research communities, as it has added to a rather sparse body of qualitative work on voters' online election information needs. The voter-centred methodological approach used in the study has the potential to be used or adopted more widely, to aid our understanding of the use and impact of online campaign tools. Originality/value “ This study forms part of an ongoing series of investigations by the authors, which has examined the use of the internet by political parties and candidates during parliamentary election campaigns in Scotland. These are the only such studies which have looked specifically at the Scottish political arena. Internationally, most studies of users of online campaign resources have been largely quantitative in nature. The qualitative research discussed in this paper is, therefore, particularly timely and potentially significant

Online parliamentary election campaigns in Scotland: a decade of research.

Over the last ten years, the authors have conducted a series of investigations into the use of the Internet by political parties and individual candidates during parliamentary election campaigns in Scotland. These are the only such studies which have looked specifically at the Scottish political arena. This paper provides a longitudinal overview of the results of these studies, and reflects on how new technologies have been adopted by political actors in Scotland in an effort to disseminate information to, and engage with, potential voters

The use of the internet by political parties and candidates in Scotland during the 2010 UK general election campaign.

Purpose “ This paper seeks to report the results of a study, which investigated the use of the internet by political parties and individual candidates in Scotland as part of their campaign for election to the UK Parliament in 2010. Design/methodology/approach “ Three methodologies were used in gathering data: the content of the web sites of 18 parties and 12 candidates was analysed in order to identify the ways in which participation by the Scottish electorate was encouraged via the provision of information and of opportunities for interaction, debate and feedback; the extent to which parties and candidates adopted and used social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, during the campaign was investigated and measured; and using e-mail, Facebook and Twitter, a series of enquiries based around topical campaign and policy issues was directed at parties and candidates to measure the speed and extent of response, as well as any efforts made towards the creation of an ongoing relationship with potential voters. Findings “ Party and candidate web sites were being used extensively for information provision, income generation and the recruitment of members and volunteers. However, Scottish political actors were reluctant to encourage online contact and debate, and were unwilling to answer contentious policy questions online. Social media applications were adopted by a significant number of parties and candidates, but were used primarily for the one-way flow of information to known associates and party activists. Originality/value “ This study forms part of an ongoing series of investigations by the authors, which has examined the use of the internet by political parties and candidates during parliamentary election campaigns in Scotland. These are the only such studies which have looked specifically at the Scottish political arena

The communication and exchange of information between state and stakeholders.

This thesis presents a critical review of the candidates Portfolio of Public Output, which is based on research conducted in the period November 2000 to date, and which consists of 21 peer-reviewed, publicly available papers published since 2001. The subject area which forms the basis of the thesis is the communication and exchange of information between the state (i.e. parliaments and governments at the local, devolved, national and European levels, as well as those who aspire to become part of the state during parliamentary elections) and its stakeholders (i.e. citizens, businesses, interest groups, etc.). Within this overarching theme, the thesis focuses on three distinct but interrelated sub-themes: 1) the provision and communication of information by, and within, parliaments; 2) the use of the Internet for information provision and exchange by political parties and candidates during parliamentary election campaigns; and 3) the exchange of information between government and stakeholders during formal public consultation processes. Within all three sub-themes, the thesis demonstrates the candidates contribution to the advancement of knowledge in two key and closely linked areas: the investigation of users information needs and informationseeking behaviour; and the critical evaluation of information service provision. The thesis begins by placing the Portfolio of Public Output in an historical, political context, by discussing the various parliamentary and government openness, transparency and consultative agendas that have influenced or driven the research on which the 21 papers are based. It continues by describing some of the candidates earlier research work, to illustrate his long-standing interest in state-stakeholder information provision and exchange, before outlining the various research projects from which the Portfolio outputs have emerged. In the core part of the thesis the 21 Portfolio outputs are synthesised and considered as part of a narrative whole, which reflects critically on their contents and which illustrates the candidates empirical, methodological and theoretical contribution to the field of library and information science (LIS). Here, the candidate argues that he has contributed significantly towards developing a better understanding of the information behaviour of stakeholders when engaging with the state, and a greater awareness of the ways in which government and parliamentary information systems and services might be more responsive to their stakeholders information needs, thus theoretically enabling a more informed, engaged and participatory body politic. In terms of the candidates empirical contribution, the thesis demonstrates that his papers have largely been unique, relevant and timely additions to the literature, written in a conscious effort to address gaps in our knowledge of: parliamentary information services and the ways in which citizens, elected members and officials engage with parliamentary information; the nature and the extent of online information provision and exchange by political actors during parliamentary election campaigns, as well as the online behaviour of voters when attempting to determine their democratic choice; and the accessibility and communication of information during government consultative processes. With regard to the candidates methodological contribution, the thesis records his key role in the design of innovative and effective data collection and analytical techniques, including: a series of protocol analysis codes to record citizens use of parliamentary websites; frameworks and schemata for the content analyses of political actors election campaign websites and social media sites; the use of covert research to measure politicians responsiveness online; and, perhaps most significantly, the interactive, electronicallyassisted interview in a roadshow setting. In terms of his theoretical contribution, the thesis discusses the candidates part in the development of the theory of Information Interchange, which considers the roles and aims of both the information provider and the information user in assessing the effectiveness of the information communication process, and which is built upon the dichotomy that appears to exist between the two perspectives. The theory recognises the significance of the different agendas and objectives of the actors involved in information interchange, in what can be a complex interaction between two or more parties with potentially conflicting conceptions of the purpose of the interchange process. Throughout the thesis, the candidate considers the actual and potential impact of his work on the LIS academic and practitioner communities. His 21 Portfolio outputs have created considerable academic interest internationally, and have been discussed and critiqued in numerous text books, journal articles, conference papers, research reports and doctoral theses; although there is only minimal evidence of others adopting, or adapting, his data collection and analytical techniques. While interest has been most significant amongst those in the LIS field, the multidisciplinary relevance of the candidates work has resulted in it being cited by authors from a wide range of other disciplines, from business administration to computing, and from engineering to public relations. In terms of the more practical impact of the candidates research work, on government and parliamentary information services and practices, the picture has been mixed. Research commissioned by the European Parliament has had the clearest and most significant impact, on its Librarys marketing and service strategies. In some cases, although a number of the candidates recommendations - relating to parliamentary public information services in the UK, and Scottish Government website deficiencies - have subsequently been addressed by these bodies, no direct causal relationship can be established. In other cases - particularly in relation to Scottish Government consultative processes, and the online electioneering of parliamentary candidates in Scotland - his recommendations have been ignored completely, and information practices have remained idiosyncratic, inconsistent and flawed. The thesis concludes by considering some of the candidates future research plans and opportunities in the specific field of state-stakeholder information provision and exchange

Do online election campaigns sway the vote? A study of the 2011 Scottish Parliamentary election.

This paper reports the results of a study which investigated the use of social media by political parties and candidates in Scotland as part of their campaign for election to the Scottish Parliament in 2011, and which compared this to the situation encountered during the 2010 UK General Election campaign. During the five-week period preceding the election date of May 5, 2011, the content of 203 Facebook pages, 152 Twitter accounts, and 66 blogs was analysed in order to identify the ways in which political actors provided information to, and interacted with, potential voters. The study found that social media, as in 2010, were used primarily for the one-way flow of information to the electorate. There was little direct, two-way engagement, and a general reluctance to respond to difficult policy questions or critical comments posted by the public. The information provided also frequently lacked any meaningful policy comment. Although the average number of friends and followers of politicians’ social media sites had risen since 2010, there was evidence to suggest that the general public was less interested in engaging with these sites, by posting comments or entering into any online debates. The paper questions the assertion of the victorious party, the Scottish National Party, that the 2011 Scottish election was the “first European election where online has swayed the vote,” and concludes by considering what implications these patterns of information provision and communication might have for those candidates who were successfully elected to the Scottish Parliament

Voters' online information behaviour and response to campaign content during the Scottish referendum on independence.

Research into the public's motivations for, and barriers to, the use of referendum campaign sites was carried out in the final weeks before the 2014 vote on Scottish independence. As a qualitative study, drawing on 54 interactive, electronically-assisted interviews, where participants were observed and questioned as they searched for and used information on the websites and social media sites of the campaign groups, the results enable more precise causal inferences to be drawn about voters' exposure to campaign sites. Results indicate participants value 'facts', what they perceive as authoritative voices, the capacity to compare campaign messages directly, infographics and concise, direct information. They are sceptical, particularly about celebrity contributions, preferring expert messages, and uncertain about their personal capacity to evaluate information they will use to make decisions. The authors set out a new model of levels of user engagement with political discourse during campaigns. Results have relevance for governments, as well as researchers in the fields of politics, communications and information management

Does Scotland 'like' this? Social media use by political parties and candidates in Scotland during the 2010 UK general election campaign

This paper reports the results of a study which investigated the use of social media by political parties and candidates in Scotland as part of their campaign for election to the UK Parliament in 2010. The study consisted of an analysis of the content of the social media sites belonging to parties and candidates standing in the 59 Scottish constituencies. During the five-week campaign period preceding the election date of 6 May 2010, the content of 81 Twitter accounts, 78 Facebook pages and 44 blogs was analysed in order to identify the ways in which political actors provided information to, and interacted with, potential voters. While parties and candidates appeared relatively keen to be seen embracing social media, they were used primarily for the one-way flow of information to the electorate. There was little direct, two-way engagement, and a general reluctance to respond to 'difficult' policy questions or critical comments posted by the public. The information provided also frequently lacked any meaningful policy comment. The followers, 'friends' and 'likers' of these sites seemed to be largely family, friends and associates of the candidates, or party members and activists. Thus, the political actors appeared to be simply 'preaching to the converted' rather than providing opportunities for objective debate with the wider electorate

Members of the Scottish Parliament on Twitter: good constituency men (and women)?

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of Twitter by Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) for the provision of constituency-related information, or in support of their constituency service work. Design/methodology/approach - Content analysis of 10,411 tweets sent by the 105 MSPs on Twitter during four weeks in early-2014. Findings - While there was some evidence of MSPs on Twitter acting as a promoter of local community interests and as a conduit for information on local policy issues and events, their tweets were dominated by the wider, national, political agenda and by the Scottish independence debate. Compared with their online behaviour as parliamentary candidates three years earlier, MSPs placed an even greater emphasis on the one-way broadcast of information to their followers. They were reluctant to respond to contentious local policy questions, or to enter into any visible, meaningful, political debate with their constituents. Research limitations/implications - Although the research was conducted seven months before the Scottish independence referendum on 18 September 2014, the independence debate still dominated proceedings on Twitter. It might, therefore, be appropriate to revisit MSPs' use of Twitter at some point during a truer 'peacetime' period. Originality/value - This is the first systematic content analysis of tweets sent by all MSPs on Twitter. It allows the authors to compare their actual Twitter use with that envisaged by the Scottish Parliament, as a way of MSPs communicating about their work and engaging with their constituents

Bravehearts or tim'rous beasties?

Over the last ten years, the authors have conducted a series of investigations into the use of the Internet by political parties and individual candidates during parliamentary at the Scottish political arena. This paper provides an overview of the results of these studies, and reflects on how new technologies have been adopted by political actors in Scotland in an effort to disseminate information to, and engage with, potential voters

First Amendment (Un)Exceptionalism: A Comparative Taxonomy of Campaign Finance Reform Proposals in the United States and United Kingdom

There is an urgent conversation happening among the world’s democracies about how to respond to the combined threat of online electioneering and foreign interference in domestic elections. Despite the shadow such activities cast over the 2016 presidential election in the United States, the US has been largely absent from comparative discussions about how to tackle the problem. This is not just because of a recalcitrant president. The assumption that America’s “First Amendment Exceptionalism” – the idea that American freedom of expression law is simply too much of an outlier to warrant useful comparative consideration – is strong on both sides of the Atlantic. This is especially true in regard to the regulation of political campaigns.This article challenges that assumption, and argues that America’s more libertarian approach to the legal regulation of political speech does not pose a barrier to fruitful comparative work in this area. It does so by comparing the law of the US to that of the UK. Specifically, it organizes reform proposals being considered in the US and UK into a common taxonomy, and sets out the legal standard governing each type of proposal in each country. Considering each country’s law through this organizational structure allows us to see that the legal differences between the US and UK, while significant, rarely bar the types of changes being considered in either nation. Indeed, the two countries have much to learn from each other’s efforts in this area, and lawmakers, regulators, and scholars should not hesitate to engage with the experiences of their transatlantic peers.In reaching this conclusion, the paper makes three distinct contributions. First, by clustering reform proposals into a taxonomy, it provides a structure for comparative work that will be useful not just in the US and UK, but in all countries working to bring their election laws fully into the internet era. Second, by providing an in-depth yet accessible guide to the legal structures undergirding election law in the US and UK, it provides a useful tool for scholars attempting to understand these systems. The US system in particular is often quickly dismissed by other nations, but without a deeper understanding of how and why US law has ended up as it has those nations risk inadvertently following in its footsteps. Finally, it identifies several concrete areas where the US and UK can benefit from each other’s expertise, thereby providing a roadmap for regulators, lawmakers, and reform advocates in both countries