The science of contemporary street protest: new efforts in the United States

Fisher, D. R., Andrews, K. T., Caren, N., Chenoweth, E., Heaney, M. T. , Leung, T., Perkins, L. N. and Pressman, J. (2019) The science of contemporary street protest: new efforts in the United States. Science Advances, 5(10), eaaw5461. (doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aaw5461)

Abstract

Since the inauguration of Donald Trump, there has been substantial and ongoing protest against the Administration. Street demonstrations are some of the most visible forms of opposition to the Administration and its policies. This article reviews the two most central methods for studying street protest on a large scale: building comprehensive event databases and conducting field surveys of participants at demonstrations. After discussing the broader development of these methods, this article provides a detailed assessment of recent and ongoing projects studying the current wave of contention. Recommendations are offered to meet major challenges, including making data publicly available in near real time, increasing the validity and reliability of event data, expanding the scope of crowd surveys, and integrating ongoing projects in a meaningful way by building new research infrastructure.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This collaboration was supported, in part, by grant no. 19010090 from the Ford Foundation Civic Engagement and Government Program.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Heaney, Dr Michael
• Authors: Fisher, D. R., Andrews, K. T., Caren, N., Chenoweth, E., Heaney, M. T., Leung, T., Perkins, L. N., and Pressman, J.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences
• Journal Name: Science Advances
• Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science
• ISSN: 2375-2548
• ISSN (Online): 2375-2548
• Published Online: 23 October 2019