Evaluation of People's Congress Deputy-voter Contact: An Automated Content Analysis

The article applies the "word score" method of automated content analysis to the study of the 'deputy proposals' submitted by N city People's Congress (PC) deputies. The aim is to evaluate the quality of deputy-voter contact. The data illustrates that local PC deputies actively responded to local people's opinions and demands; however, a lack of direct contact is also witnessed. Eventually, the study testifies the methodological availability in the study of PC related texts. The automated content analysis has massive advantages in reducing time and material costs, offering a brilliant chance for PC researchers to create a national wide database of deputy-voter contact.