Studying Presidential Rhetoric With a Mixed Methods Approach

Abstract

This case study illustrates how a mixed methods approach can be used to study historical aspects of the rhetorical presidency. After searching digitized historical newspapers, I built a dataset of popular presidential rhetoric that I used to empirically test some of the assumptions underlying the modern presidency thesis. Lessons from this case study include the importance of a realistic data collection strategy, strategies to increase your units of observations, and ways to overcome challenges in doing historical research in political science.

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