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In person icon Symbolic Representation: Methodological and Empirical Challenges

Gender
Political Methodology
Representation
P088
Emanuela Lombardo
Universidad Complutense de Madrid

In person icon Building: University Building, Room: IV

Thursday 13:00 - 14:45 CEST (11/06/2015)

Abstract

Symbolic representation is still the ‘Cinderella’ of the dimensions of political representation Pitkin (1967) distinguished. Yet, a full understanding of the integrated model of women’s political representation requires that symbolic representation is put on equal foot with descriptive and substantive representation. One of the reasons for the lack of scholarly research on symbolic representation lies in the very same complexity of its measurement. This roundtable brings together several scholars working on different aspects of symbolic representation such as discourses, institutions, political elites, citizens and mass media. Through an open dialogue with the audience, panellists will reflect on the main methodological and empirical challenges faced when seeking to examine symbolic representation. Each panellist will have five minutes to briefly present their approach to symbolic representation, the research question and object of study. After these presentations, the chair will pose general questions to establish a conversation among panellists and the audience. Questions for the roundtable conversation are: (i) Is symbolic representation conceptually clear enough in the (gender and politics) literature?; (ii) What methods and research tools allow us to grasp symbolic representation?; (iii) To what extent do different objects of study (citizens, elites, discourses, institutions) require different methods? Do different methods entail different results?; (iv) What type of data allows us to measure women’s symbolic representation? How much data ‘is there’ and how much data must be collected from anew? What are potential selection-biases in data collection? (v) To what extent might research on symbolic representation suffer from reliability and (both internal and external) validity problems?

Title Details
Capturing in Words what a Symbol Symbolizes? Challenges for Studying Symbolic Representation from a Discursive Approach View Paper Details
Symbolic Representation and Citizens' Political Attitudes: A Reflection on Alternative Methodological Avenues View Paper Details
What do Women Symbolize? Symbolic Representation in Cabinet Appointments View Paper Details