Measuring the deliberative quality of an online experimental mini-public: methodology and early results

This paper reports the evolving analysis strategy and some early results from a large-scale randomised controlled trial (RCT) that aims to explore the deliberative quality of internet engagement. The RCT divided 6009 participants into deliberation, information-only and control groups allowing us to investigate significant aspects of online democratic engagement. First it allows us to explore the extent to which moderated asynchronous discussion of policy issues (in this case youth anti-social behaviour and social cohesion) leads to reasoned shifts in policy preferences. Second, the design of the experiment provides an occasion to judge the relative impact of informed interaction between citizens as compared to individual reflection on information. Finally, a combination of quantitative analysis of the changes in policy preferences and use of the site and qualitative analysis of contributions to threads allows us to assess the extent to which interactions between citizens in this online environment can be understood as a form of democratic deliberation. More broadly, the experiment provides empirical insights that can inform contemporary debates on the desirability and effectiveness of internet-based participation in political decision making.