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Rediscovering the Civic and Achieving Better Outcomes in Public Policy

Grant reference: RES-177-25-0002

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Occasional paper details

Taking political deliberation online : an experimental analysis of asynchronous discussion forums
Public authorities are increasingly using information and communication technology (ICT) to engage citizens in the political process, in particular through internet discussion forums. In this study we evaluate the effect of online asynchronous deliberation on the direction and magnitude of opinion change on policy preferences relating to youth anti-social behaviour amongst a sample of 6009 members of an online panel. Panel members were randomly assigned to conditions which manipulated (a) the amount of information about anti-social behaviour provided and (b) the extent to which panel members were able to communicate with one another. Prior to and following the experimental treatments, panel members were surveyed on their views on a broad range of issues relating to youth anti-social behaviour policy. We find that this form of online deliberation can lead to modest shifts in preferences amongst those who choose to deliberate. However, because those who choose to deliberate are a relatively small, self-selecting minority who make little use of background information, questions remain about the utility of such online forums as effective means of engaging citizens in politics and decision making.
English

Primary contributor

Author Graham Smith

Additional contributors

Author Patrick Sturgis
Author Peter John

Keywords

internet use; political participation

Additional details

No
University of Southampton
01 January 2010
Southampton