Interdependencies of VAA design choices. Arrows indicate the direction of dependency. In cases of double arrows, dependency works both ways. Algorithm-related design choices are marked in gray.Abstract
Voting advice applications (VAAs) seek to strengthen democracy by assisting voters in voting-related decision-making. VAAs have become popular tools in many European democracies and their usage has been linked to real-life electoral consequences. As VAA usage has become more prominent, it has also sparked research interest toward VAA design. This article focuses on VAA design process by discussing interdependencies of VAA design choices and applies design science research methodology by setting design objectives to solve problems with existing Finnish VAA designs. The article proposes overall VAA designs that can improve existing Finnish candidate-based VAA designs, encouraging Finnish VAA developers to update their designs.
Veikko Isotalo
PhD candidate in Political Science
My research interests include VAAs, data science and electoral research.