Measuring Research: What Everyone

Needs to Know® 1st Edition Cassidy R.

Sugimoto
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://textbookfull.com/product/measuring-research-what-everyone-needs-to-know-1
st-edition-cassidy-r-sugimoto/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...

Brazil : what everyone needs to know 1st Edition Roett

https://textbookfull.com/product/brazil-what-everyone-needs-to-
know-1st-edition-roett/

Drones : what everyone needs to know 1st Edition Kreps

https://textbookfull.com/product/drones-what-everyone-needs-to-
know-1st-edition-kreps/

Iran : what everyone needs to know 1st Edition Michael

Axworthy

https://textbookfull.com/product/iran-what-everyone-needs-to-
know-1st-edition-michael-axworthy/

Advertising : what everyone needs to know 1st Edition

Mara Einstein

https://textbookfull.com/product/advertising-what-everyone-needs-
to-know-1st-edition-mara-einstein/
The Arctic: What Everyone Needs to Know Klaus Dodds

https://textbookfull.com/product/the-arctic-what-everyone-needs-
to-know-klaus-dodds/

Antarctica: What Everyone Needs to Know® David Day

https://textbookfull.com/product/antarctica-what-everyone-needs-
to-know-david-day/

Vaccines: What Everyone Needs To Know Kristen A.

Feemster

https://textbookfull.com/product/vaccines-what-everyone-needs-to-
know-kristen-a-feemster/

Inequality: What Everyone Needs to Know 1st Edition

James K. Galbraith

https://textbookfull.com/product/inequality-what-everyone-needs-
to-know-1st-edition-james-k-galbraith/

Antiquities: what everyone needs to know 1st Edition

Maxwell Lincoln Anderson

https://textbookfull.com/product/antiquities-what-everyone-needs-
to-know-1st-edition-maxwell-lincoln-anderson/
MEASURING RESEARCH
WHAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW®
 MEASURING
RESEARCH
WHAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW®

CASSIDY R. SUGIMOTO
AND
VINCENT LARIVIÈRE

1
 3
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers
the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education
by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University
Press in the UK and certain other countries.

“What Everyone Needs to Know” is a registered trademark

of Oxford University Press.

Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press

198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America.

© Oxford University Press 2018

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted
by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction
rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the
above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the
address above.

You must not circulate this work in any other form

and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.

CIP data is on file at the Library of Congress

ISBN 978–0–19–064012–5 (pbk.)
ISBN 978–​0–​19–​064011–​8 (hbk.)

1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Paperback Printed by Printed by WebCom, Inc., Canada
Hardback Printed by Bridgeport National Bindery, Inc., United States of America
This book is dedicated to Noah, Zoé, Anastasia, and
Madeleine—​who are extraordinary beyond measure.
 CONTENTS

1. The Basics 1

What is this book about? 1

Why measure research? 3
Who is this book for? 5
What are the historical foundations for measuring research? 7
What are the theoretical foundations of measuring research? 10
What is an indicator? 14
What are the data sources for measuring research? 16

2. The Data 22

What is a citation index? 22

What is the Web of Science? 25
What is Scopus? 30
What is Google Scholar Citations? 32
What are the differences among the main citation indices? 35
What are the cultural biases of data sources? 38
How are disciplines defined? 45
viii Contents

3. The Indicators 50

How is authorship defined and measured? 50

How is research production defined and measured? 53
How is collaboration defined and measured? 57
How is interdisciplinarity defined and measured? 62
How is impact defined and measured? 64
What is the difference between references and citations? 66
Why is research cited? 67
How do citation rates vary by time and discipline? 69
What is not cited? 76
How concentrated are citations? 79
How are citations counted? 81
What are self-​citations? 86
How is obsolescence measured? 90
What is the journal impact factor? 93
What is the Eigenfactor Score? 96
What is Source Normalized Impact per paper? 98
What is the SCImago journal rank? 99
What is CiteScore? 99
What is the h-​index? 100
What are altmetrics? 102
How is research funding measured? 110
What are indicators for applied research? 112
What is the relationship between science indicators and peer review? 116

4. The Big Picture 119

Who controls research measurement? 119

What are the responsibilities of stakeholders? 122
 Contents ix

What are the adverse effects of measurement? 126

What is the future of measuring research? 129

FURTHER READING 135

INDEX 143
MEASURING RESEARCH
WHAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW®
 1
THE BASICS

What is this book about?

Research is a complex social activity. It is performed in a vari-
ety of environments by a wide array of actors, and includes
many different activities. Production of new knowledge is
built upon countless hours of work in laboratories and librar-
ies, meetings with students and collaborators, and formal and
informal interactions with other scholars and the public. These
activities are difficult, if not impossible, to measure directly.
The measurement of research, therefore, is tasked with trans-
lating these activities into measurable units—​called indicators.
This book describes the ways in which these indicators are
constructed, their strengths and weaknesses, and how they
should be interpreted and used.
The measurement of research activity is categorized into
three distinct types—​input, output, and impact. Input indi-
cators are based on the resources and investments that fuel
scientific activities. Common input indicators include the size
and other characteristics of the scientific workforce as well
as funding allocated to research. Output indicators measure
the knowledge that is produced as a result of that input: typi-
cally, publications and patents. Impact indicators measure the
ways in which scholarly work has an effect upon the research
community and society. Identifying and documenting input,
2 Measuring Research

output, and impact is difficult, as many traces are not easily

visible or fail to manifest themselves entirely. Furthermore,
many data traces cannot be easily standardized to allow for
measurement at different levels of aggregation. Current mea-
surements of research, therefore, rely on data that leave a trace,
can be standardized and aggregated, and are contemporary in
nature. This form of research measurement—​generally labeled
scientometrics—​includes all the ways in which we quantita-
tively gather and analyze data on science—​including the pro-
duction and content of scholarly documents and the traces of
the receipt of scholarly products.
Science indicators are constructed from a wide range of
data sources. Input data are typically gathered obtrusively by
means of local and international surveys. These data have the
imprimatur of major governmental and scientific agencies,
such as national research councils and international organi-
zations (e.g., the Organisation for Economic Co-​ operation
and Development [OECD] and United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO]). The nature of
data collection provides an opportunity to gather rich sociode-
mographic data, and the stability of these organizations leads
to routine updates of the data. Output and impact indicators
tend to be derived from databases explicitly developed for
documentation purposes (e.g., citation indices). The benefits
of these unobtrusive data sources are that they provide de
facto standards for reporting that are easily aggregated, more
comprehensive than local surveys, and relatively stable over
time. Despite issues in coverage (e.g., by discipline, language,
and country), citation databases have become the standard for
measuring research, primarily using the tools of bibliometrics.
This book describes these bibliometric data sources as well as
newly emerging sources for measuring research.
Research measurement is often seen as promoting a “pub-
lish or perish” culture, distorting science, and leading to gross
goal displacement. This book examines each of these critiques
in turn, highlighting the limitations in data and compilation
 The Basics 3

that need to be considered for appropriate application of indi-

cators. The political economy of research measurement is also
of increasing concern, given the few major firms that control
data collection (e.g., Clarivate, Elsevier, Google) and the high
costs associated with most of these products. This book dis-
cusses the notion of science as a public good and the complexi-
ties that arise in working with isolated proprietary datasets.
Data elitism, lack of access, and interoperability are considered
alongside the evolving landscape that is disrupting this his-
torical infrastructure.
Over the last few decades, several advanced handbooks
for the compilation and interpretation of bibliometric indica-
tors have been published, mostly by experts from within the
community. There is also a comprehensive catalog of technical
manuals that provide standards for survey-​based measure-
ment of science and technology input indicators. This book is
of a different nature: it provides, in accessible terms, an over-
view of the historical foundations, key concepts and terms,
guides to interpretation, critiques, and recommendations for
measuring research.

Why measure research?

Science is an object of study across many fields in the humani-
ties and social sciences. Each of these fields brings its own
methods to bear on the object of science—​ from historical,
sociological, and philosophical perspectives. Measurements
of research—​and the indicators that are derived from these
measurements—​ provide unique insights on the relational
and contextual elements of science. They can be used both
to complement other studies of science as well as to provide
additional understanding of how knowledge is produced over
time, across disciplines, and across the globe.
Bibliometrics are particularly useful when the amount
of data exceeds human capabilities to process. For example,
a reviewer is well equipped to make a judgment on a single
4 Measuring Research

document or small set of documents. An author can fairly eas-

ily ascertain the number of publications he or she produced.
However, measurements of the production of an institu-
tion or country are harder to gauge. Furthermore, relational
data—like citations are nearly impossible to manually analyze
even at the level of an individual. Therefore, measurements of
research have their greatest utility at scale—​to bring into the
light that which is not easily observed by the individual.
Curiosity—​ the fundamental building block of all basic
science—​fueled much of the early developments in measur-
ing research. Scholars sought to understand the broad and
complex system of science using measurements of inputs and
outputs. The work of Derek de Solla Price and others used
research indicators to construct theories of scientific activity,
which were also useful in testing hypotheses posed across dif-
ferent fields of scientific study. For example, philosophers of
science have long been interested in consensus and revolu-
tions in science, which can be studied using measurement of
research output, topical analysis, and the accumulation of cita-
tions. Historians of science have debated the reception of sci-
entific ideas and the impact of specific discoveries on research
fields. Analyses of traditional historical documents (archives,
interviews, etc.) can be supplemented with bibliometric indi-
cators to demonstrate the receipt by actors at the time of the
discovery and subsequently. Sociologists have incorporated
research measurement into their analyses to support theories
of hierarchies in the structure of science and resulting asym-
metries in the distribution of rewards. For all these disciplines,
the measurement of research, mostly through scholarly docu-
ments, sheds a novel light on science.
Measurement also serves as a mechanism for providing
reflective feedback. By turning the tools of science upon sci-
ence, measurements provide a way to observe and calibrate
the system of science. Collection and analysis of informa-
tion about scientific activity can be used to inform the deci-
sions of administrators and policymakers. Measurements are
16 Measuring Research

associated with a clear corresponding concept. For example,

the Altmetric Attention Score combines values obtained from
Mendeley, Twitter, Facebook, and newspapers (among other
sources) into a composite indicator, which makes the indicator
uninterpretable.
Indicators can be constructed on the basis of input, output,
and impact variables. There are, of course, several questions
that require comparison between these types of variables—​
calculating, for example, the return on research investment.
However, such indicators are complicated by the lack of glob-
ally comparable input indicators as well as the skewness in
coverage in citation indices. Imagine, for example, if one
wanted to compare whether investment in research in China
led to higher returns (of research output) than investment in
research in the United States. This would make several assump-
tions: (a) that investment is calculated in the same way for
both China and the United States, (b) that coverage of research
output was equal for both countries (or that inequalities were
calculated into the measurement), (c) that both measurements
were appropriately normalized for size of the scientific work
(which must be calculated equally), and (d) that output was
normalized by the disciplinary emphasis of the countries.
These calculations are not impossible, but much more com-
plicated than those produced by simply taking one reported
R&D variable and dividing it by the number of publications
from that country. It is critical, therefore, that those construct-
ing and interpreting indicators have a strong understanding
of the strengths and weaknesses of various databases as well
as an accurate understanding of how science indicators are
constructed.

What are the data sources for measuring research?

Data sources used to measure research can be divided into two
broad categories: those used for input indicators and those
used for output and impact indicators. Data collection of input
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
some of them in our own country, and under our own eyes. To
preserve them must be as necessary as to institute them. If, in the
opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the
constitutional powers be, in any particular, wrong, let it be corrected
by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But
let there be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one
instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon
by which free governments are destroyed. The precedent must
always greatly overbalance, in permanent evil, any partial or
transient benefit which the use can at any time yield.
Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity,
religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that
man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert
these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the
duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the
pious man, ought to respect and cherish them. A volume could not
trace all their connexions with private and public felicity. Let it
simply be asked, where is the security for property, for reputation,
for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are
the instruments of investigation in courts of justice? And let us with
caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained
without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of
refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and
experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail
in exclusion of religious principles. It is substantially true, that virtue
or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule,
indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free
government. Who, that is a sincere friend to it, can look with
indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric?
Promote then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for
the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of
a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public
opinion should be enlightened.
As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public
credit. One method of preserving it is to use it as sparingly as
possible, avoiding occasions of expense by cultivating peace, but
remembering also that timely disbursements to prepare for danger
frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it; avoiding,
likewise, the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of
expense, but by vigorous exertions in time of peace to discharge the
debts which unavoidable wars may have occasioned; not
ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden which we
ourselves ought to bear. The execution of these maxims belongs to
your representatives, but it is necessary that public opinion should
co-operate. To facilitate to them the performance of their duty, it is
essential that you should practically bear in mind, that toward the
payments of debts there must be revenues; that to have revenue
there must be taxes; that no taxes can be devised, which are not more
or less inconvenient and unpleasant; that the intrinsic
embarrassment inseparable from the selection of the proper objects
(which is always a choice of difficulties) ought to be a decisive
moment for a candid construction of the conduct of the government
in making it, and for a spirit of acquiescence in the measure for
obtaining revenue, which the public exigencies may at any time
dictate.
Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace
and harmony with all; religion and morality enjoin this conduct; and
can it be that good policy does not equally enjoin it? It will be worthy
of a free, enlightened, and at no distant period a great nation, to give
to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people
always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can doubt
that, in the course of time and things, the fruits of such a plan would
richly repay any temporary advantages which might be lost by a
steady adherence to it? Can it be that Providence has not connected
the permanent felicity of a nation with its virtue? The experiment, at
least, is recommended by every sentiment which ennobles human
nature. Alas! is it rendered impossible by its vices?
In the execution of such a plan, nothing is more essential than that
permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular nations, and
passionate attachment for others, should be excluded: and that in
place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be
cultivated. The nation which indulges towards another an habitual
hatred, or an habitual fondness, is, in some degree, a slave. It is a
slave to its animosity or to its affection; either of which is sufficient
to lead it astray from its duty and its interest. Antipathy in one
nation against another, disposes each more readily to offer insult and
injury, to lay hold of slight causes of umbrage, and to be haughty and
untractable, when accidental or trifling occasions of dispute occur.
Hence frequent collisions, obstinate, envenomed, and bloody
contests. The nation, prompted by ill-will and resentment,
sometimes impels to war the government, contrary to the best
calculations of policy. The government sometimes participates in the
national propensity, and adopts, through passion, what reason would
reject; at other times it makes the animosity of the nation
subservient to projects of hostility, instigated by pride, ambition, and
other sinister and pernicious motives. The peace often, sometimes
perhaps the liberty, of nations has been the victim.
So likewise a passionate attachment of one nation to another
produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite nation,
facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest, in cases
where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one the
enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the
quarrels and wars of the latter, without adequate inducement or
justification. It leads also to concessions to the favorite nation of
privileges denied to others, which is apt doubly to injure the nation
making the concessions; by unnecessarily parting with what ought to
have been retained, and by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and a
disposition to retaliate, in the parties from whom equal privileges are
withheld; and it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens
(who devote themselves to the favorite nation) facility to betray, or
sacrifice the interest of their own country, without odium; sometimes
even with popularity; gilding with the appearance of a virtuous sense
of obligation, a commendable deference for public opinion, or a
laudable zeal for public good, the base or foolish compliances of
ambition, corruption, or infatuation.
As avenues to foreign influence in innumerable ways, such
attachments are particularly alarming to the truly enlightened and
independent patriot. How many opportunities do they afford to
tamper with domestic factions, to practice the art of seduction, to
mislead public opinion, to influence or awe the public councils? Such
an attachment of a small or weak, towards a great and powerful
nation, dooms the former to be the satellite of the latter.
Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to
believe me, fellow-citizens), the jealousy of a free people ought to be
constantly awake; since history and experience prove that foreign
influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government.
But that jealousy, to be useful, must be impartial; else it becomes the
instrument of the very influence to be avoided, instead of a defence
against it. Excessive partiality for one foreign nation, and excessive
dislike for another, cause those whom they actuate to see danger only
on one side, and serve to veil, and even second, the arts of influence
on the other. Real patriots, who may resist the intrigues of the
favorite, are liable to become suspected and odious; while its tools
and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people, to
surrender their interests.
The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is, in
extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little
political connexion as possible. So far as we have already formed
engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. There let
us stop.
Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have none, or a
very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent
controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our
concerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicate
ourselves, by artificial ties, in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics,
or the ordinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or
enmities.
Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us to
pursue a different course. If we remain one people under an efficient
government, the period is not far off when we may defy material
injury from external annoyance; when we may take such an attitude
as will cause the neutrality we may at any time resolve upon, to be
scrupulously respected; when belligerent nations, under the
impossibility of making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly hazard
the giving us provocation; when we may choose peace or war, as our
interests, guided by justice, shall counsel.
Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation? Why quit our
own to stand upon foreign ground? Why, by interweaving our
destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and
prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest,
humor, or caprice?
 It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any
portion of the foreign world; so far, I mean, as we are now at liberty
to do it; for let me not be understood as capable of patronizing
infidelity to existing engagements. I hold the maxim no less
applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the
best policy. I repeat it, therefore, let those engagements be observed
in their genuine sense. But, in my opinion, it is unnecessary, and
would be unwise to extend them.
Taking care always to keep ourselves, by suitable establishments,
on a respectable defensive posture, we may safely trust to temporary
alliances for extraordinary emergencies.
Harmony, and a liberal intercourse with all nations, are
recommended by policy, humanity, and interest. But even our
commercial policy should hold an equal and impartial hand; neither
seeking nor granting exclusive favors or preferences; consulting the
natural cause of things; diffusing and diversifying, by gentle means,
the streams of commerce, by forcing nothing; establishing, with
powers so disposed, in order to give trade a stable course, to define
the rights of our merchants, and to enable the government to support
them, conventional rules of intercourse, the best that present
circumstances and mutual opinions will permit, but temporary, and
liable to be, from time to time, abandoned or varied, as experience
and circumstances shall dictate; constantly keeping in view, that it is
folly in one nation to look for disinterested favors from another; that
it must pay, with a portion of its independence, for whatever it may
accept under that character; that by such acceptance it may place
itself in the condition of having given equivalents for nominal favors,
and yet of being reproached with ingratitude for not giving more.
There can be no greater error than to expect, or calculate upon, real
favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion which experience must
cure, which a just pride ought to discard.
In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and
affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong and
lasting impression I could wish; that they will control the usual
current of the passions, or prevent our nation from running the
course which has hitherto marked the destiny of nations; but if I may
even flatter myself that they may be productive of some partial
benefit, some occasional good; that they may now and then recur to
moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of
foreign intrigues, to guard against the impostures of pretended
patriotism; this hope will be a full recompense for the solicitude for
your welfare by which they have been dictated.
How far, in the discharge of my official duties, I have been guided
by the principles which have been delineated, the public records, and
other evidences of my conduct, must witness to you and the world.
To myself, the assurance of my own conscience is, that I have at least
believed myself to be guided by them.
In relation to the still subsisting war in Europe, my proclamation
of the 23d of April, 1793, is the index to my plan. Sanctioned by your
approving voice, and by that of your representatives in both Houses
of Congress, the spirit of that measure has continually governed me,
uninfluenced by any attempts to deter or divert me from it.
After deliberate examination, with the aid of the best lights I could
obtain, I was well satisfied that our country, under all the
circumstances of the case, had a right to take, and was bound in duty
and interest to take a neutral position. Having taken it, I determined,
as far as should depend upon me, to maintain it with moderation,
perseverance, and firmness.
The considerations which respect the right to hold this conduct, it
is not necessary on this occasion to detail. I will only observe, that,
according to my understanding of the matter, that right, so far from
being denied by any of the belligerent powers, has been virtually
admitted by all.
The duty of holding neutral conduct may be inferred, without
anything more, from the obligation which justice and humanity
impose on every nation, in cases in which it is free to act, to maintain
inviolate the relations of peace and unity towards other nations.
The inducements of interests, for observing that conduct, will best
be referred to your own reflections and experience. With me, a
predominant motive has been to endeavor to gain time to our
country to settle and mature its yet recent institutions, and to
progress, without interruption, to that degree of strength and
consistency which is necessary to give it, humanly speaking, the
command of its own fortunes.
 Though, in reviewing the incidents of my administration, I am
unconscious of intentional error; I am, nevertheless, too sensible of
my defects not to think it probable that I may have committed many
errors. Whatever they may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to
avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry
with me the hope, that my country will never come to view them with
indulgence; and that, after forty-five years of my life dedicated to its
service with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be
consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of
rest.
Relying on its kindness in this, as in other things, and actuated by
that fervent love towards it which is so natural to a man who views in
it the native soil of himself and his progenitors for several
generations, I anticipate, with pleasing expectation, that retreat in
which I promise myself to realize, without alloy, the sweet enjoyment
of partaking, in the midst of my fellow-citizens, the benign influence
of good laws under a free government—the ever favorite object of my
heart—and happy reward, as I trust, of our mutual cares, labors, and
dangers.

George Washington.

United States, 17th of Sept., 1796.

1800.—No Federal Platform.
 Republican Platform, Philadelphia.

Adopted in Congressional Caucus.

1. An inviolable preservation of the Federal constitution, according
to the true sense in which it was adopted by the states, that in which
it was advocated by its friends, and not that which its enemies
apprehended, who, therefore, became its enemies.
2. Opposition to monarchizing its features by the forms of its
administration, with a view to conciliate a transition, first, to a
president and senate for life; and, secondly, to an hereditary tenure
of those offices, and thus to worm out the elective principle.
3. Preservation to the states of the powers not yielded by them to
the Union, and to the legislature of the Union its constitutional share
in division of powers; and resistance, therefore, to existing
movements for transferring all the powers of the states to the general
government, and all of those of that government to the executive
branch.
4. A rigorously frugal administration of the government, and the
application of all the possible savings of the public revenue to the
liquidation of the public debt; and resistance, therefore, to all
measures looking to a multiplication of officers and salaries, merely
to create partisans and to augment the public debt, on the principle
of its being a public blessing.
5. Reliance for internal defense solely upon the militia, till actual
invasion, and for such a naval force only as may be sufficient to
protect our coasts and harbors from depredations; and opposition,
therefore, to the policy of a standing army in time of peace which
may overawe the public sentiment, and to a navy, which, by its own
expenses, and the wars in which it will implicate us, will grind us
with public burdens and sink us under them.
 6. Free commerce with all nations, political connection with none,
and little or no diplomatic establishment.
7. Opposition to linking ourselves, by new treaties, with the
quarrels of Europe, entering their fields of slaughter to preserve their
balance, or joining in the confederacy of kings to war against the
principles of liberty.
8. Freedom of religion, and opposition to all maneuvers to bring
about a legal ascendency of one sect over another.
9. Freedom of speech and of the press; and opposition, therefore,
to all violations of the constitution, to silence, by force, and not by
reason, the complaints or criticisms, just or unjust, of our citizens
against the conduct of their public agents.
10. Liberal naturalization laws, under which the well disposed of
all nations who may desire to embark their fortunes with us and
share with us the public burdens, may have that opportunity, under
moderate restrictions, for the development of honest intention, and
severe ones to guard against the usurpation of our flag.
11. Encouragement of science and the arts in all their branches, to
the end that the American people may perfect their independence of
all foreign monopolies, institutions and influences.

1801–1811.—No Platforms.

(No Convention or Caucus held.)

1812.—No Republican Platform.

No Federal Platform.

Clintonian Platform.

New York, August 17.

 1. Opposition to nominations of chief magistrates by congressional
caucuses, as well because such practices are the exercise of
undelegated authority, as of their repugnance to the freedom of
elections.
2. Opposition to all customs and usages in both the executive and
legislative departments which have for their object the maintenance
of an official regency to prescribe tenets of political faith, the line of
conduct to be deemed fidelity or recreancy to republican principles,
and to perpetuate in themselves or families the offices of the Federal
government.
3. Opposition to all efforts on the part of particular states to
monopolize the principal offices of the government, as well because
of their certainty to destroy the harmony which ought to prevail
amongst all the constituent parts of the Union, as of their leanings
toward a form of oligarchy entirely at variance with the theory of
republican government; and, consequently, particular opposition to
continuing a citizen of Virginia in the executive office another term,
unless she can show that she enjoys a corresponding monopoly of
talents and patriotism, after she has been honored with the
presidency for twenty out of twenty-four years of our constitutional
existence, and when it is obvious that the practice has arrayed the
agricultural against the commercial interests of the country.
4. Opposition to continuing public men for long periods in offices
of delicate trust and weighty responsibility as the reward of public
services, to the detriment of all or any particular interest in, or
section of, the country; and, consequently, to the continuance of Mr.
Madison in an office which, in view of our pending difficulties with
Great Britain, requires an incumbent of greater decision, energy and
efficiency.
5. Opposition to the lingering inadequacy of preparation for the
war with Great Britain, now about to ensue, and to the measure
which allows uninterrupted trade with Spain and Portugal, which, as
it can not be carried on under our flag, gives to Great Britain the
means of supplying her armies with provisions, of which they would
otherwise be destitute, and thus affording aid and comfort to our
enemy.
6. Averment of the existing necessity for placing the country in a
condition for aggressive action for the conquest of the British
American Provinces and for the defence of our coasts and exposed
frontiers: and of the propriety of such a levy of taxes as will raise the
necessary funds for the emergency.
7. Advocacy of the election of De Witt Clinton as the surest method
of relieving the country from all the evils existing and prospective,
for the reason that his great talents and inflexible patriotism
guaranty a firm and unyielding maintenance of our national
sovereignty, and the protection of those commercial interests which
were flagging under the weakness and imbecility of the
administration.

1815.—Resolutions passed by the Hartford Convention,

January 4.

Resolved, That it be and is hereby recommended to the legislatures

of the several states represented in this convention, to adopt all such
measures as may be necessary effectually to protect the citizens of
said states from the operation and effects of all acts which have been
or may be passed by the Congress of the United States, which shall
contain provisions subjecting the militia or other citizens to forcible
drafts, conscriptions, or impressments not authorized by the
constitution of the United States.
Resolved, That it be and is hereby recommended to the said
legislatures, to authorize an immediate and an earnest application to
be made to the government of the United States, requesting their
consent to some arrangement whereby the said states may,
separately or in concert, be empowered to assume upon themselves
the defense of their territory against the enemy, and a reasonable
portion of the taxes collected within said states may be paid into the
respective treasuries thereof, and appropriated to the balance due
said states and to the future defense of the same. The amount so paid
into said treasuries to be credited, and the disbursements made as
aforesaid to be charged to the United States.
Resolved, That it be and hereby is recommended to the legislatures
of the aforesaid states, to pass laws where it has not already been
done, authorizing the governors or commanders-in-chief of their
militia to make detachments from the same, or to form voluntary
corps, as shall be most convenient and conformable to their
constitutions, and to cause the same to be well armed, equipped, and
held in readiness for service, and upon request of the governor of
either of the other states, to employ the whole of such detachment or
corps, as well as the regular forces of the state, or such part thereof as
may be required, and can be spared consistently with the safety of
the state, in assisting the state making such request to repel any
invasion thereof which shall be made or attempted by the public
enemy.
Resolved, That the following amendments of the constitution of
the United States be recommended to the states represented as
aforesaid, to be proposed by them for adoption by the state
legislatures, and in such cases as may be deemed expedient by a
convention chosen by the people of each state. And it is further
recommended that the said states shall persevere in their efforts to
obtain such amendments, until the same shall be effected.
First. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among
the several states which may be included within this Union,
according to their respective numbers of free persons, including
those bound to serve for a term of years, and excluding Indians not
taxed, and all other persons;
Second. No new state shall be admitted into the Union by
Congress, in virtue of the power granted in the constitution, without
the concurrence of two-thirds of both houses;
Third. Congress shall not have power to lay an embargo on the
ships or vessels of the citizens of the United States, in the ports or
harbors thereof, for more than sixty days;
Fourth. Congress shall not have power, without the concurrence of
two-thirds of both houses, to interdict the commercial intercourse
between the United States and any foreign nation or the
dependencies thereof;
Fifth. Congress shall not make nor declare war, nor authorize acts
of hostility against any foreign nation, without the concurrence of
two-thirds of both houses, except such acts of hostility be in defense
of the territories of the United States when actually invaded;
Sixth. No person who shall hereafter be naturalized shall be
eligible as a member of the Senate or House of Representatives of the
United States, or capable of holding any civil office under the
authority of the United States;
Seventh. The same person shall not be elected President of the
United States a second time, nor shall the President be elected from
the same state two terms in succession.
Resolved, That if the application of these states to the government
of the United States, recommended in a foregoing resolution, should
be unsuccessful, and peace should not be concluded, and the defense
of these states should be neglected, as it has been since the
commencement of the war, it will, in the opinion of this convention,
be expedient for the legislatures of the several states to appoint
delegates to another convention, to meet at Boston, in the state of
Massachusetts, on the third Monday of June next, with such powers
and instructions as the exigency or a crisis so momentous may
require.
Resolved, That the Honorable George Cabot, the Honorable
Chauncey Goodrich, the Honorable Daniel Lyman, or any two of
them, be authorized to call another meeting of this convention, to be
holden in Boston at any time before new delegates shall be chosen as
recommended in the above resolution, if in their judgment the
situation of the country shall urgently require it.

From 1813–1829.—No Platforms by either political party,

except that at Hartford by Federalists, given above.
 1830.—Anti-masonic resolution,

Philadelphia, September.
Resolved, That it is recommended to the people of the United
States, opposed to secret societies, to meet in convention on Monday,
the 26th day of September, 1831, at the city of Baltimore, by
delegates equal in number to their representatives in both Houses of
Congress, to make nominations of suitable candidates for the offices
of President and Vice-President, to be supported at the next election,
and for the transaction of such other business as the cause of Anti-
Masonry may require.
 1832.—National Democratic Platform,
adopted at a ratification Meeting,

at Washington City, May 11.

Resolved, That an adequate protection to American industry is
indispensable to the prosperity of the country; and that an
abandonment of the policy at this period would be attended with
consequences ruinous to the best interests of the nation.
Resolved, That a uniform system of internal improvements,
sustained and supported by the general government, is calculated to
secure, in the highest degree, the harmony, the strength and
permanency of the republic.
Resolved, That the indiscriminate removal of public officers for a
mere difference of political opinion, is a gross abuse of power; and
that the doctrine lately boldly preached in the United States Senate,
that “to the victors belong the spoils of the vanquished,” is
detrimental to the interests, corrupting to the morals, and dangerous
to the liberties of the country.

1836.—“Locofoco” Platform,

New York, January.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
free and equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness; that the true foundation of republican government is the
equal rights of every citizen in his person and property, and in their
management; that the idea is quite unfounded that on entering into
society we give up any natural right; that the rightful power of all
legislation is to declare and enforce only our natural rights and
duties, and to take none of them from us; that no man has the
natural right to commit aggressions on the equal rights of another,
and this is all from which the law ought to restrain him; that every
man is under the natural duty of contributing to the necessities of
society, and this all the law should enforce on him; that when the
laws have declared and enforced all this, they have fulfilled their
functions.
We declare unqualified hostility to bank notes and paper money as
a circulating medium, because gold and silver is the only safe and
constitutional currency; hostility to any and all monopolies by
legislation, because they are violations of equal rights of the people;
hostility to the dangerous and unconstitutional creation of vested
rights or prerogatives by legislation, because they are usurpations of
the people’s sovereign rights; no legislative or other authority in the
body politic can rightfully, by charter or otherwise, exempt any man
or body of men, in any case whatever, from trial by jury and the
jurisdiction or operation of the laws which govern the community.
We hold that each and every law or act of incorporation, passed by
preceding legislatures, can be rightfully altered and repealed by their
successors; and that they should be altered or repealed, when
necessary for the public good, or when required by a majority of the
people.

1836.—Whig Resolutions,

Albany, N. Y., February 3.

Resolved, That in support of our cause, we invite all citizens
opposed to Martin Van Buren and the Baltimore nominees.
Resolved, That Martin Van Buren, by intriguing with the executive
to obtain his influence to elect him to the presidency, has set an
example dangerous to our freedom and corrupting to our free
institutions.
Resolved, That the support we render to William H. Harrison is by
no means given to him solely on account of his brilliant and
successful services as leader of our armies during the last war, but
that in him we view also the man of high intellect, the stern patriot,
uncontaminated by the machinery of hackneyed politicians—a man
of the school of Washington.
Resolved, That in Francis Granger we recognize one of our most
distinguished fellow-citizens, whose talents we admire, whose
patriotism we trust, and whose principles we sanction.
 1839.—Abolition Resolution,

Warsaw, N. Y., November 13.

Resolved, That, in our judgment, every consideration of duty and
expediency which ought to control the action of Christian freemen,
requires of the Abolitionists of the United States to organize a
distinct and independent political party, embracing all the necessary
means for nominating candidates for office and sustaining them by
public suffrage.

Abolition Platforms.

The first national platform of the Abolition party upon which it

went into the contest in 1840, favored the abolition of slavery in the
District of Columbia and Territories; the inter-state slave-trade, and
a general opposition to slavery to the full extent of constitutional
power.
In 1848, that portion of the party which did not support the
Buffalo nominees took the ground of affirming the constitutional
authority and duty of the General Government to abolish slavery in
the States.
Under the head of “Buffalo,” the platform of the Free Soil party,
which nominated Mr. Van Buren, will be found.

1840.—Democratic Platform,

Baltimore, May 5.
Resolved, That the Federal government is one of limited powers,
derived solely from the constitution, and the grants of power shown
therein ought to be strictly construed by all the departments and
agents of the government, and that it is inexpedient and dangerous
to exercise doubtful constitutional powers.
2. Resolved, That the constitution does not confer upon the
general government the power to commence and carry on a general
system of internal improvements.
3. Resolved, That the constitution does not confer authority upon
the Federal government, directly or indirectly, to assume the debts of
the several states, contracted for local internal improvements or
other state purposes; nor would such assumption be just or
expedient.
4. Resolved, That justice and sound policy forbid the Federal
government to foster one branch of industry to the detriment of
another, or to cherish the interests of one portion to the injury of
another portion of our common country—that every citizen and every
section of the country has a right to demand and insist upon an
equality of rights and privileges, and to complete and ample
protection of persons and property from domestic violence or foreign
aggression.
5. Resolved, That it is the duty of every branch of the government
to enforce and practice the most rigid economy in conducting our
public affairs, and that no more revenue ought to be raised than is
required to defray the necessary expenses of the government.
6. Resolved, That Congress has no power to charter a United
States bank; that we believe such an institution one of deadly
hostility to the best interests of the country, dangerous to our
republican institutions and the liberties of the people, and calculated
to place the business of the country within the control of a
concentrated money power, and above the laws and the will of the
people.
7. Resolved, That Congress has no power under the constitution, to
interfere with or control the domestic institutions of the several
states; and that such states are the sole and proper judges of
everything pertaining to their own affairs, not prohibited by the
constitution; that all efforts, by Abolitionists or others, made to
induce Congress to interfere with questions of slavery, or to take
incipient steps in relation thereto, are calculated to lead to the most
alarming and dangerous consequences, and that all such efforts have
an inevitable tendency to diminish the happiness of the people, and
endanger the stability and permanence of the Union, and ought not
to be countenanced by any friend to our political institutions.