Comparative Study of Election Surveys (CSES)
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CSES Data Bridging

Overview

Data Bridging enables users to bring together information from CSES with other data sources. The concept is part of CSES Data Linkage efforts. CSES data products enable data bridging by including standard identifiers at the polity, year, and party level used by other projects to facilitate the merging of CSES data with other prominent datasets in political science.

Taking what the data linkage literature describes as a deterministic approach, CSES incorporates consistent and internationally recognized identifiers within its data products to ensure exact matches between records at the polity, year, and party level. With the inclusion of these common and persistent identifiers, the challenge of linking CSES data with other data sources becomes straightforward.

Why Facilitate Data Bridging?

Combining multiple sources of data for scientific analysis is becoming more common in social sciences, and thus there is a more significant market for data linkage. By facilitating data bridging, CSES enhances its versatility as a social science dataset, reduces user efforts in data acquisition, and provides users with maximum flexibility, a fundamental CSES principle.

Moreover, facilitating data bridging enhances data integrity and quality, allows for re-use of existing data sources for new studies, fosters potential fresh avenues of research, and ensures that replicability, the gold standard of academic research, is improved.

How to Locate a Data Bridging Identifier in CSES Data Products

Variables which facilitate data bridging in CSES IMD can be located in the CSES IMD Codebook Part 2 by searching for the following terms:

  • POTENTIAL POLITY LEVEL BRIDGING IDENTIFIER
  • POTENTIAL REGIONAL LEVEL BRIDGING IDENTIFIER
  • POTENTIAL TIME BRIDGING IDENTIFIER
  • POTENTIAL PARTY/COALITION BRIDGING IDENTIFIER

Stata Syntax Examples

CSES provides downloadable Stata syntax examples illustrating how CSES data can be bridged with other common data sources:

Syntax Type Comprehensive Guide Command-Only (Light)
Bridging by Party (MARPOR / CMP) Download Comprehensive [.txt] Download Light [.txt]
Bridging by Polity (V-Dem) Download Comprehensive [.txt] Download Light [.txt]

Compatible Comparative Projects

  • Chapel Hill Expert Survey (CHES)
  • Comparative Candidate Survey (CCS)
  • The Database of Political Institutions (DPI)
  • Eurobarometer (EB)
  • European Election Studies (EES)
  • European Social Survey (ESS)
  • European Values Study (EVS)
  • Global Party Survey (GPS)
  • International Social Survey Programme (ISSP)
  • Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP)
  • Manifesto Project (MARPOR / CMP)
  • Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)
  • Parliaments and Governments Database (ParlGov)
  • Party Facts
  • The Quality of Government Data (QoG)
  • Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem)
  • World Bank
  • World Values Survey (WVS)
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