An Annual Meeting Working Group consists of a small group of meeting attendees who are interested in a common topic and who agree to attend panels and plenary sessions aligned on a similar topic. They convene at the meeting for discussion. The idea is to simulate a working group conference experience amidst APSA panels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To join a working group, prospective participants can email the contacts below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qualitative Bayesian Reasoning Working Group<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Tasha Fairfield, tasha.fairfield@gmail.com<\/b><\/a><\/strong> This working group aims to bring together scholars interested in applying Bayesian reasoning in qualitative and multimethod research, to extend the Qualitative Bayesian Reasoning Network coordinated by the organizer, and to complement the virtual workshops run through the network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bayesian reasoning is an intuitive process that begins by assessing the relative \u201cprior odds\u201d on rival explanations, drawing on any relevant initial information we possess. We then gather evidence. We evaluate the inferential weight of the evidence by asking which hypothesis makes that evidence more expected, and how much more expected relative to rivals. Finally, we update to obtain \u201cposterior odds\u201d on our hypotheses\u2014following Bayes\u2019 rule, we gain more confidence in whichever hypothesis makes the evidence more expected. Bayesian reasoning provides a rigorous foundation for qualitative research that helps us avoid common cognitive biases and better evaluate the inferential import of evidence, while closely mirroring the way that scholars intuitively tend to approach case study research (Fairfield & Charman 2022).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The working group comprises three panels that showcase early career scholars employing Bayesian reasoning in case studies, as well as a recommended pre-conference short course. Our meetings will provide time for additional dialog on the panel papers, as well as discussion of opportunities and challenges scholars face in bringing the method into the mainstream of their political science subfields and sharing personal experiences of how Bayesian reasoning has informed different aspects of research, from crafting a proposal, to conducting fieldwork and analyzing evidence, to evaluating research published by other scholars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n View the full schedule here.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Research Collaborative on Studying Political Party Conventions Working Group<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Denise Baer, denisebaer@gmail.com<\/b><\/a><\/strong> Are political party conventions a dinosaur past their time, merely a balloon drop and a campaign media opportunity \u2014 or possibly a critical intermediary organizing and agenda setting meeting that represents an untapped research and professional opportunity? Launched in 2023, the Research Collaborative on Studying Political Party Conventions starts with this question: What can political scientists offer and learn by collaborating on convention observational and delegate research based on best practices and new challenges in the post-COVID and post-Jan. 6th context where the American model of democracy is increasingly questioned? Political parties connect executives, legislators, members and activists at all levels of government and conventions are the one meeting that brings them all together to govern the national party. Given the multiple access, methodological and theoretical challenges in participant\/ethnographic observation and research at what is essentially a private event, sadly too many prior convention research efforts involved political scientists who only attended one convention which raised partisanship and bias concerns or whose research aspirations over-reached their capacity to collect data onsite. Conventions since the 1960s have seen political scientists episodically appear in one year, produce a book, and disappear in the next cycle. While previous political science convention collaborative efforts did not seek to develop common and\/or complementary approaches, the democracy challenges in 2024 call for greater social science insights and perspectives that can only be realized by cross-researcher collaboration for multi-site case study research. As a Working Group, this Research Collaborative is meant to be inclusive of multiple research approaches, themes and methodologies while at the same time building consensus and sharing data across research teams. The goal is to consider multiple research entry points (events, groups, party leaders, elected officials, delegates, platforms, etc.), changes in American political party organizations and functions (e.g., party machines to state utility parties and party institutionalization post 1960s\/70s reforms to more recent polarization and presidentialization since the 1990s?), and the ebb and flow and intermediary capacity of various groups and factions present at political party conventions over time. The goals of the Research Collaborative is early identification of the pool of likely on-site political science\/sociology\/other researchers at the 2024 conventions, building consensus over common research paradigms for studying conventions & delegates, supporting increased research quality and rigor in the study of party organizations and conventions, establishing a better foundation for political science engagement and community of knowledge building contributing to useful intellectual and evidence-based insights for reform, and collaborating to obtain shared funding for research. Email Denise Baer (denisebaer@gmail.com<\/a>) to join the group meeting and for more information including receiving the full schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n View the full schedule here.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Working Group on Propaganda and Censorship: Critical Perspectives on Disinformation Studies and Information Control<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Clifford Bob, cliffordbob2@gmail.com<\/b><\/a> & Hans Klein, hans@gatech.edu<\/b><\/a><\/b> Politicians, bureaucrats, media, and foundations loudly assert that disinformation is a major threat needing control. Many scholars have accepted these claims (and related grants), starting research on disinformation, and supporting the powerful forces suppressing minority views. Yet basic questions remain:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Members of this working group will attend APSA events, probing the extent to which panelists address these critical threshold issues. Informed by social science methodology, Mill\u2019s marketplace of ideas, and First Amendment jurisprudence, the working group will discuss preconceptions, biases, and blind spots in the newfangled study of disinformation. Beyond APSA, members will form a scholarly cohort critically examining disinformation studies and its public uses. Working group members should anticipate related publications, including an edited volume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saturday, September 2, 2:00 \u2013 3:30 pm
LACC 514<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sunday, September 3, 8:00 \u2013 9:30 am
LACC 401<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sunday, September 3, 10:00 \u2013 11:30 am
LACC 401<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n