James Madison University JMU Scholarly Commons Masters Theses The Graduate School Spring 2017 Assessing the reliability and accuracy of advocacy group data in hate group research Mark S. Purington James Madison University Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/master201019 Part of the Social Influence and Political Communication Commons Recommended Citation Purington, Mark S., "Assessing the reliability and accuracy of advocacy group data in hate group research" (2017). Masters Theses. 521. https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/master201019/521 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the The Graduate School at JMU Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of JMU Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Assessing the Reliability and Accuracy of Advocacy Group Data in Hate Group Research Mark S. Purington A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication May 2017 FACULTY COMMITTEE: Committee Chair: Traci Zimmerman, PhD Committee Members/ Readers: Sarah O’Connor S. Scott Lunsford, PhD Acknowledgments I have had the unique opportunity of pursuing both an undergraduate and graduate degree at James Madison University while employed in that institution’s Carrier Library. This paper marks the culmination of fifteen years of study, overall, and needless to say, I’ve had a lot of help along the way. I would like to thank my family, and my wife Sandra in particular, for their encouragement and patience during this fascinating adventure.