| dc.description |
In their attempts to describe and explain the voting behavior of groups within legislative bodies, political scientists have utilized both dimensional and nondimensional techniques of roll-call analysis. Nondimensional techniques have frequently been employed to study groups defined in terms of partisan or urban-rural differences. Yet, as Aage R. Clausen has pointed out, nondimensional group-behavior statistics, such as indices of cohesion, likeness, and colligation, are unable to account for the variety of influences on the legislator's vote decision. Because such influences are diverse and shift from one issue area to another, studies of legislative voting which also take account of the dimensions of roll-call behavior will probably result in more accurate and complete knowledge about the role of groups in legislative bodies. |
