Qualitative Assessment of Deliberation
This chapter discusses three qualitative approaches to the assessment of deliberative participation: speech analysis, ethnography, and comparative case studies. In discussing these approaches, it considers exemplars of “problem-driven” research. With respect to research on deliberative democracy, problem-driven research may be characterized as research that is inspired by, and that seeks to contribute to the resolution of, substantive problems associated with the political project of deliberative democracy. The chapter illustrates what problem-driven research looks like by considering three qualitative exemplars of it: one involving speech analysis, another involving ethnography, and a third involving comparative case studies. Each exemplar is concerned with when and how citizens deliberate. Empirical evidence is primarily drawn from the United States of America, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
