Experimental results for the electronic Raman effect in differently do
ped cuprate superconductors will be presented. We show that the B-2g-s
ymmetry data are generally closely related to ordinary transport and a
re therefore most likely originating from the carriers, while the resp
onse at B-1g symmetry cannot be assigned to a specific type of excitat
ions. In the superconducting state the B-2g pair breaking peaks scale
with the transition temperature over a wide doping range. All results
consistently suggest a strong anisotropy of the gap and can be modeled
by assuming d(x2-y2) symmetry for the order parameter.