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Scenario 1 Part A.1: Replicate the Rise and Decline of Issues in Congress

The exercise is to replicate as closely as possible the two charts below. Note, however, that the analysis tool does not allow an analysis of percent of days of hearings. Instead, you will analyze percent of all hearings, but the results should be similar.

Chart showing the rise of new issues-- Environment, Health, and Law, Crime and Family Issues--in congress

Chart showing the decline of old issues --Government Operations, Public Lands and Water Management, and Defense Issues--in congress

(Click on the thumbnails to view the larger picture.)

Basic Instructions

Click here to open a new window with the analysis tool.
Select the appropriate dataset. In this case, our target dataset, "Congressional Hearings," is the default.
Select the appropriate major topics. For example, if replicating the "Declining Issues," select Defense, Government Operations, and Public Lands and Water Management.
Select appropriate beginning and ending Congressional Sessions. (Don't forget to click the option for "the Congressional Sessions", rather than "Years"!)
Select to graph the activity as a "percent of all activity."
Note: The analysis tool does not allow us to evaluate activity on the basis of "days of hearings" as in Baumgartner's analysis. However, "percent of all activity" will closely replicate his findings.
Finally, click the button "Search."
A chart will appear graphing the hearing trends across each of these issues.
(The Chart Tutorial provides detailed instructions about changing the chart appearance.)