TY - JOUR
T1 - Together alone
T2 - a group-based polarization measurement
AU - Tang, Tanzhe
AU - Ghorbani, Amineh
AU - Squazzoni, Flaminio
AU - Chorus, Caspar G.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - The growing polarization of our societies and economies has been extensively studied in various disciplines and is subject to public controversy. Yet, measuring polarization is hampered by the discrepancy between how polarization is conceptualized and measured. For instance, the notion of group, especially groups that are identified based on similarities between individuals, is key to conceptualizing polarization but is usually neglected when measuring polarization. To address the issue, this paper presents a new polarization measurement based on a grouping method called “Equal Size Binary Grouping” (ESBG) for both uni- and multi-dimensional discrete data, which satisfies a range of desired properties. Inspired by techniques of clustering, ESBG divides the population into two groups of equal sizes based on similarities between individuals, while overcoming certain theoretical and practical problems afflicting other grouping methods, such as discontinuity and contradiction of reasoning. Our new polarization measurement and the grouping method are illustrated by applying them to a two-dimensional synthetic data set. By means of a so-called “squeezing-and-moving” framework, we show that our measurement is closely related to bipolarization and could help stimulate further empirical research.
AB - The growing polarization of our societies and economies has been extensively studied in various disciplines and is subject to public controversy. Yet, measuring polarization is hampered by the discrepancy between how polarization is conceptualized and measured. For instance, the notion of group, especially groups that are identified based on similarities between individuals, is key to conceptualizing polarization but is usually neglected when measuring polarization. To address the issue, this paper presents a new polarization measurement based on a grouping method called “Equal Size Binary Grouping” (ESBG) for both uni- and multi-dimensional discrete data, which satisfies a range of desired properties. Inspired by techniques of clustering, ESBG divides the population into two groups of equal sizes based on similarities between individuals, while overcoming certain theoretical and practical problems afflicting other grouping methods, such as discontinuity and contradiction of reasoning. Our new polarization measurement and the grouping method are illustrated by applying them to a two-dimensional synthetic data set. By means of a so-called “squeezing-and-moving” framework, we show that our measurement is closely related to bipolarization and could help stimulate further empirical research.
KW - Bipolarization
KW - Clustering
KW - Multi-dimensional polarization
KW - Polarization measurement
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85121360714&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11135-021-01271-y
DO - 10.1007/s11135-021-01271-y
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85121360714
SN - 0033-5177
VL - 56
SP - 3587
EP - 3619
JO - Quality and Quantity
JF - Quality and Quantity
IS - 5
ER -