NOTE: This manual was last modified on March 4. 2013
This on-line manual was designed to
assist coders in their evaluations of event data using the IDEA event
coding framework.
Coders will be using a data source containing Reuters Business Briefing (RBB) global news reports. Code the lead, or first, sentence of the news report only. Although the full text of the news report may be available, code only the first sentence. In addition, should more than one verb or verb phrase appear within the first sentence, treat the verb or verb phrase contained within the main clause as the only event to be coded.
Do not search later sentences in the report to locate missing information, should the first sentence lack a source or target actor. In other words, the coder may read to the end of the first sentence and must stop, as though the report had ended there.
The following guidelines and links have been developed for all users of the IDEA event framework; it is both an introduction to our coding scheme as well as a coding refresher for people of all coding proficiency levels.
This coding manual also includes machine coding examples for protocol developers; manual coders may view the machine coding examples as background, but should focus on and follow the human coding examples only.
Follow these rules as you code event categories:
1. Determine whether the sentence contains a codable event
record the literal value of the verb or verb phrase
assign an IDEA event category to the verb or verb phrase
3. Locate the source (initiating) actor
record the literal value of the source
assign variables: source association and source sector
4. Locate the target (recipient) actor
record the literal value of the target
assign variables: target association and target sector
5. Review the coding to make certain that the source and target values correspond with the event category selected.
6. Submit your coding.