[[SIGS <- Back to SIGS Index]] --- ======**Collection**====== ---- Our research at SIGs will mainly focus on special interest groups [[SIGSRatings ratings]] and [[SIGSEndorsements endorsements]]. You will constantly be on a lookout for these two categories of data. It is recommended that you familiarize yourself with [[SIGSRatings ratings]] and [[SIGSEndorsements endorsements]] before you start collecting them since you will need to recognize the content that you are collecting if you do not know them already. In some occasions, you might encounter a new group that is not already in our database, you will be collecting them as well. Not all special interest groups do both ratings and endorsements, some groups do one and not the other. It is important to note this when you are doing research and it will save you time from searching for something that does not exist. Most of the [[http://wiki.votesmart.org/SpecialInterestGroup special interest groups]] that are currently on our database have either ratings or endorsements or both and **we do not** collect groups that does not have either of these information. The collection process should follow a schedule to perform checks on groups that are currently live and active in the database, the goal is to keep it updated with the latest info as soon as you can. One strategy that our department adopted is to collect for endorsements at the essential time closing onto an election day or week, as there are more likely to have these information released. As of this writing, the current resource our department utilizes to keep track of our work is via a spreadsheet, what we call a sweep sheet. Basically, a sweep sheet keeps track of when the SIGS is last updated or swept by last updated date (see more on [[SIGSDocumentation sweep sheet]]). Collected information should also be properly stored and documented in the network drive. There are various methods to store the collected information, as such would be downloading documents (PDFs, spreadsheet, images), screenshots, printing and downloading web pages and scraping information. Stored and documented information will be vital as being a reference and evidence to our research. (//See more at [[SIGSDocumentation Documentation]]//). --- --- <<{{{toc title="Index"}}}<<::c:: --- =====Collecting from Websites===== ---- Most of the ratings or endorsements we will be collecting can be found on interest group's website, as they are one of the fastest way to obtain firsthand information from. And since most interest group at the state and national level will have a website themselves, even for member's activities that usually requires authentication. So, as you can imagine, interest groups website can contain thousands of webpages. The challenge here is to know where to look, and you will get better at it with experience. --- ===Common Traits=== Special Interests Group (SIG) websites tend to share a similar pattern. Just like websites that uses a design template that serves a specific function, you could think of a SIG website as using a "template" that functions to cater information to the public and members alike. The common traits of SIG websites is that they will usually have the the following section: --- ~-==Advocacy== ~-==News and Updates== ~-==Take Action== Note that they do not normally have the same title as shown above, but could be somewhat look and function similarly. Some groups will have specific web domain dedicated to contain these information. Groups that does this would want to keep their main operations apart from their political actions or that they have a PAC--Political Action Committee. This normally happen on major groups such as the [[https://nra.org National Rifle Association (NRA)]] or [[https://www.plannedparenthood.org/ Planned Parenthood]]; political action site for [[https://www.nrapvf.org/ NRA Political Victory Fund]] and [[https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/ Planned Parenthood Action Fund]]. So you might want to look for these websites before concluding the research for that SIG. --- ===Search Tool=== The search tool is an internal search function within the website that searches all content available. This is done by searching a keyword or phrase that exist in any of the web pages. You can normally find it at the top of the page at the side of the navigation bar, though sometimes it is located at the footer of the webpage. The function of the search tool is to find content that are not traversable from the surface or anything that is buried deep within website. Most SIG website will have this tool available since their website are usually quite large. ==Searching using Keywords== SIG tend to use their own terms to define what a rating should be called or how they would show their endorsements. Below is a table showing the common keywords that has been used by many SIGS: ~|=|Data Type|=|Common Keyword|| ||ratings||scorecard, report card, voting/legislative/congressional report, voting/legislative/congressional record, voting/legislative guide, candidate scores, roll call|| ||endorsements||endorse/endorsed/endorsement(s), recommend, support, vote for|| These terms can be reused across SIGS and have variations among them. Though it is not recommend to just use the search tool as a final way to conclude your research on the website. Using the search tool from time to time can be a mindless task and it will not guarantee results and might even give false negatives. So if possible, attempt to be thorough when looking for ratings or endorsements on the website. The key is to first look for structure, like those common traits mentioned above. Then, try and understand how the SIG function, it will give some insights on how to look for the things you need. --- ===Site Search=== Sometimes, the search tool provided is not completely developed or there is no search tool at all. Search engines then can be your friend. Most search engine now would have a site search function that enables your search results to only focus on a specifically mentioned website. Commonly used search syntax for a site search: ---<