Three Validation Tests of the Shor–McCarty State Legislator Ideology Data

Abstract

The Shor–McCarty state ideology data provide a valuable resource for students of state legislative politics, but, as with any important new measures, the properties of those data warrant independent examination. Toward that end, we report results from three validation tests, two tests of convergent validity and one test of construct validity, with all tests focused on Shor and McCarty’s legislator, or individual-level, data. Collectively, results of the validation exercises offer strong evidence the Shor–McCarty measures provide valid representations of state legislator ideology.