politicalweb.info Glossary of Terms
Accessibility to the disabled
Features or labels (e.g., 'Bobby Approved) that indicate the site is available to people with handicaps.
Address to Send Campaign Contributions
Instructions on making offline donations.
Biographical Section
The personal/political history of the candidate.
Campaign Ads
Online reproduction ads distributed also on TV, radio, press, or other offline media.
Campaign Calendar
Allows visitors to locate upcoming events on the candidate's schedule.
Campaign Contact
Telephone number or address for the campaign.
Campaign News
Section containing news on the campaign progress.
Cite References in Issue Statements
Citation of information published by others to support issue positions.
Civic or Advocacy Groups
Civic or advocacy groups: national and state-level non-profit organizations with a civic, voting, or election emphasis, or a legislative or policy agenda.
Compare Positions to Opponent
Comparison of issue positions with individual explicitly identified as the opponent.
Compare Positions to Other Group
Comparison of issue positions with any other individual or group .
Discuss Campaign Finance Issue
Candidate includes campaign finance as an issue in his/her platform.
Electronic Paraphernalia
Electronic, downloadable campaign items such as campaign buttons, bumper stickers, etc.
Email Address
The email address for the campaign.
Email Address for Campaign
Indicates whether the site provides an email address for the campaign.
Email List Sign-up
Feature that allows visitors to subscribe to the campaign listserv.
Encourage Letters to the Editor
Feature on the site to help visitors draft letters to send to local newspapers.
Endorsements
Section dedicated to listing the names and positions of those who have endorsed the candidate.
Facilitate Letters to the Editor
Feature that allows visitors to write a letter of support for a candidate and distribute it on-site.
Government Sites
Any site produced by a U.S. federal, state, or local government agency.
Identify Campaign Contributors
Site provides the names of the contributors and the amounts they provided.
Identify Shared Values with Others
Candidate aligns his/her position with that of another individual or group.
IM Handle
Feature that allows visitors to provide their IM handles for campaign contact.
Individual Citizen Sites
Any site produced by a citizen working as an individual, that is, not as an employee of an organization.
Individualization
Feature that allows visitors to control site content presentation. For example, a site may allow visitors to choose issues of interest, then highlight content related to those issues whenever the visitor accesses the site.
Information About Contributors
Names of, and possibly amounts donated by, other contributors.
Information About Making Donations
Feature that provides visitors with the information and/or tools they need to donate money, on-site or off-site, to the campaign.
Interactive Campaign Calendar
Calendar that allows visitors to make queries, such as when the candidate will appear in their area.
Invitation to Email the Campaign
Explicit invitation to send comments to the candidate or campaign office.
Issues Section
Discusses the candidate's assessment of what issues are relevant for the race and/or the candidate's goals pertaining to those issues.
Link to FEC Report
Site links to an FEC report concerning the campaign.
Local or Community Sites
Any business, organization, or service affiliated with a local community.
Mobile Phone Number
Feature that allows visitors to provide their mobile phone number for campaign contact.
Multimedia Content
Audio or video material other than campaign ads.
Offline Distribution of Campaign Materials
Explicit effort on the part of the campaign to get site visitors to distribute site materials to media and other outlets in the visitors' communities.
Online Events
Live event webcast over the site, or an archive of such an event.
Opponents Sites
A site specifically identified by the candidate as having belonging to his/her opponent.
Other Candidates Sites
Sites that belong to a candidate other than the linking site's direct opponent. Could be a colleague running for another office.
Other Languages
Presentation of the site in a language other than English.
Other Site
Any site that does not fit into the other categories listed.
Party Affiliation Mentioned
A succinct, visible reference to the candidate's party, such as a logo, label or slogan.
Photographs of campaign events
Photographs of campaign events available on-line.
Political Parties
Any national, state, or local chapter of a political party.
Pop-up Windows
A window that pops up anywhere on the site containing campaign content.
Portals
Any general interest (e.g., yahoo.com, msn.com) or special interest portal.
Present Campaign Finance Data
Candidate provides information on campaign contributions.
Present Issue Statements
Site contains statements on candidate's issue positions.
Press Organizations
Any newspaper, news program, or news magazine.
Privacy Policy
Section that lays out the campaign's use of personal and site-use data.
Provide Rationale for Positions
Use of factual, political, or ideological argument to back up issue positions.
Report Campaign Expenditures
Site provides information on how campaign funds have been disbursed
Report Personal Financial Statement
Site provides statement reflecting the candidate's annual income
Send Links
Feature that allows visitors to send a link about the campaign site, via email, to a friend.
Site Sponsorship Identifier
Statement of who paid for the site
Site-Specific Search Engine
Tool to help visitors find specific content on a candidate's site by inputting key words.
Speech Texts
Text of candidate speeches.
System to Make Online Campaign Contributions
Feature that allows visitors to make credit card or other electronic donations online.
Visitor Comments
Feature that allows visitors both to contribute their own comments and view those sent in by others.
Volunteer Sign-up
Feature that provides visitors with the information and/or tools they need register as a volunteer for the campaign.
Voter Registration Information
Feature that allows visitors to start the process of voter registration.
Web Toolkits
Section that provides information about plugins/applications/settings that are either required for the page, or that just make Web surfing more enjoyable.
Selecting Campaign Web Sites
The following strategy was employed to identify the multi-site Web presence of each 2004 presidential candidate.

To locate additional Web sites on which 2004 presidential candidates have an official presence, coders:

  1. Scanned first and second level pages of candidates' main sites for mentions of or links to other campaign-sponsored sites. Sponsorship is established via a campaign sponsorship message on the site. In some cases, the link from the campaign site designates sponsorship for the additional Web presence.
  2. Scanned the first two pages of results of Web searches for campaign-sponsored sites. Coders searched Google.com on two sets of queries:
    1. "full name + president + 2004"
    2. the text of the campaign sponsorship text found on the home page of the main site.
Some candidates present their main site content in various locations on the Web. When this is the case, alternative domains displaying the main site content are linked under "Other site". The main site url from which all coding is done is linked from the candidate's name at the top of the grid. When no other alternative domain exists, (i.e. the candidate displays her/his main site content at only one location on the Web), this url is linked under that candidate's name at the top of the chart and under "Main site".