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Cited by 528

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 2 of the 2 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Information and Political Engagement in America: The Search for Effects of Information Technology at the Individual Level

Bimber, Bruce·2001·Political Research Quarterly
DOI 10.1177/106591290105400103
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Abstract

Some aspects of democracy appear more sensitive than others to the availability throughout society of political information. Individual-level political engagement poses a puzzle in this regard. An instrumentalquantitative conception of information that is central to rational theories and is also found in some behavioral theories of participation appears contradicted by historical trends. I treat the contemporary expansion in political information made possible by new information technology as a form of natural experiment. I test for a relationship between information availability and political engagement using survey data about Internet use in the period 1996-99. This test is relevant to the applied debate over whether the information revolution will prove salutary for participation, and at the same time sheds light on contending theories of information. I find little relationship exists; the only form of participation which is demonstrably connected to Internet use is donating money This finding fails to support instrumental conceptions of information and instead endorses cognitive conceptions employed in psychological and certain behavioral theories of political engagement.

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Metadata

Authors
Bimber, B.
Venue
Political Research Quarterly
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2001-03
Volume
54
Issue
1
Pages
53-67
ISSN
  • 1065-9129 (ISSN-L)
  • 1938-274X
DOI
10.1177/106591290105400103
OpenAlex
W2008676006
Cited by
528
References
2
FWCI
72.99
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Information and Political Engagement in America: The Search for Effects of Information Technology at the Individual Level. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1177/106591290105400103
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Bimber, B. (2001). Information and Political Engagement in America: The Search for Effects of Information Technology at the Individual Level. Political Research Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1177/106591290105400103

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