This article extends Walton's systematic review of race scholarship by analyzing three prestigious political science journals—Political Science Quarterly, American Political Science Review, and the Journal of Politics. Using computer-assisted text analysis informed by theory, it uncovers two distinct traditions: African American Politics (AAP), focusing on Black cultural distinctiveness; versus Race Relations Politics (RRP), emphasizing socio-political status relative to Whites.

Data & Methods:

Computer-assisted text analyses were employed to develop a measure of racial dialogue with strong empirical properties. This approach replicates and enhances Walton’s methodology by incorporating additional periodicals.

Key Findings:

The study finds that while race discussions are increasing in frequency over time, mainstream journals predominantly follow the RRP tradition rather than AAP. Authors introduce guidelines for applying this measure elsewhere.

Why It Matters:

Researchers now have clearer tools to assess racial dialogue across different political science contexts.