search

DataKind-DC / ifes-elections

Characterizing the timing of elections worldwide.
MIT License
2 stars 5 forks source link

Evaluate the Database of Political Institutions 2017 #35

Closed nbanion closed 3 years ago

nbanion commented 3 years ago

Evaluate how this dataset might help us answer our motivating questions.

https://publications.iadb.org/en/database-political-institutions-2017-dpi2017

Read the documentation, briefly explore the data, and make a case for or against using this data source. If the data seem promising, then describe some possible uses. If not, then explain the shortcomings. If you are unsure, then write down your questions. No matter what, your investigation is valuable!

Record your findings in the discussion on this issue.

This data set comes from a collection identified on #27.

nbanion commented 3 years ago

Note that what looks like a pdf download is actually a zip file with the codebook and the data.

nbanion commented 3 years ago

IFES Election Guide seems to be an input to this dataset (codebook, p3).

nbanion commented 3 years ago

Not a primary data source. Possible secondary source.

~ 8k rows x 100 cols (< 10MB)

Looks like longitudinal data where rows are countries in specific years and columns mostly describe political and electoral institutions. The data currently cover 180 countries from 1975 - 2017.

Although some headers like "Electoral Rules" (codebook, p14) sound interesting as secondary data sources, this source doesn't really address individual phases of the electoral cycle. Instead it provides global, country-level characteristics for a snapshot in time.