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codes in the context of explanations and comments concerning
the coding for each party. These supporting comments should
help restore some of the texture of understanding that is
inevitably lost when one is forced to summarize observations
by choosing a code number representing a position along some
underlying scale. The codes and comments were devised for
storage and retrieval with the RIQS (Remote Information
Query System) developed at Northwestern
University.1 The basic format for reporting the
information with the RIQS system is largely
self-explanatory. Excluding the attraction, concentration,
and reflection variables presented in the previous tables,
the RIQS printout presents all the basic variables in
accordance with their placement in the ICPP conceptual
framework. The first line under each variable heading
reports the value of the party's code for that variable,
followed by its associated adequacy-confidence (AC) code
expressing our judgment of the quality of the data (see
Chapter 2, especially Table 2.1). If the party has been
scored separately for the first and second part of the time
period, the second line will contain the score for the
second part. If the same code holds throughout the time
period, the second line begins a comment interpreting the
code for the party. Otherwise, the third line begins the
comment.
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1 See Kenneth Janda, "A World-wide Study of
Political Parties," in Benjamin Mittman and Lorraine
Borman, eds., Personalized Data Base Systems (New
York: Wiley, 1975), pp. 129-137.
2 India is in the
Anglo-American culture area.
3 The Federation of
Rhodesia and Nyasaland is included in the Anglo-American
culture area.
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