For the Comparative Cross-National Electoral Research project two datasets have been produced for modules II and III of the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES): an aggregate file with district level data, and a file where this district level data has been merged back with the CSES. Data file CCNER_District2 includes district level electoral data for all countries in CSESII for which there are district identifiers (variable B2031). The dataset includes district level data on party vote share, turnout, and in some cases – the number of seats, the number of candidates or the number of party lists. Existing data already included in the CSES was supplemented with data from other sources, in particular from the Constituency-Level Elections Archive. Data for electoral districts not included in the CSES were added to this file, to facilitate comparison of CSES and non-CSES districts, within CSES elections. Data file CCNER_Merged2 combines CSESII with the district level data above, enabling a multi-level analysis of electoral competition and turnout. This dataset contains the same variables and cases as CSESII, with the addition of district level data which was missing for some countries in the CSESII. Data file CCNER_District3 includes district level electoral data for all countries in CSESIII for which there are district identifiers (variable C2031). The dataset includes district level data on party vote share, turnout, and in some cases – the number of seats, the number of candidates or the number of party lists. Existing data already included in the CSES was supplemented with data from other sources, in particular from the Constituency-Level Elections Archive. Data for electoral districts not included in the CSES were added to this file, to facilitate comparison of CSES and non-CSES districts, within CSES elections. Data file CCNER_Merged3 combines CSESIII with the district level data above, enabling a multi-level analysis of electoral competition and turnout. This dataset contains the same variables and cases as CSESIII, with the addition of district level data which was missing for some countries in the CSESIII. Large scale comparative cross-national data collection efforts present new challenges for social scientists in the development of survey questions, sampling and case selection, data linkages and statistical analysis. While such data collection enhances and broadens the capacity of cross-national researchers to examine issues such as the interaction of institutions, culture and individual political behaviour, cross national researchers too rarely have the luxury of stepping back from their data and asking fundamental questions about data quality and analysis. The focus of this project is on doing precisely that, thus developing capacity and good practice in the analysis of large scale cross-national data sets. This will be accomplished by convening a series of workshops at national and international conferences and publishing and disseminating materials from them. The workshops will focus on one of the most important substantive issues in comparative cross-national electoral research: the interactions between political institutions, electoral competition, and political attitudes and behaviour as it illustrates many of the problematic issues of this type of research.

Existing data already included in the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES) was supplemented with data from other sources.