Details on assignment due Thursday

This post provides details on the project proposal + survey draft due Thursday. I will also hand out an assignment sheet in class.

Your proposal should be 1-2 pages in length, and contain three elements:
1. Why the topic you are investigating is significant / why you are interested in finding out more about public opinion on this topic.
2. What is currently know about public opinion on this issue.*
3. Bibliography of sources (in APA format).

* You will need to conduct preliminary online research (I recommend searching both Google News and Gallup) to determine what current polls have found regarding your topic. If you have an NDSU-specific topic, you should search for public opinion data on the broader issue. For the final project, you will be making an argument about how media coverage may have influenced opinion on this topic (see course syllabus for more detail), so keep that in mind when selecting/deciding on your topic.

In addition to the prospectus, you will submit a first draft of your survey (the one you will be posting on SurveyMonkey prior to Spring Break). The survey should contain:

1. An introductory paragraph thanking the participant for their participation and introducing them to the topic under study.
2. 15-20 questions on the topic.*
3. A brief description, underneath each question, of what you are attempting to measure with this survey item.

* You should have a variety of question types (both opinion and knowledge, for example) in your survey. You also want to collect demographic information (e.g., gender, age, political affiliation, or any other categories you want to compare data across). Keep in mind the problems of questionnaire design we discussed last Thursday, and think about how question order might influence responses.

Check out the New York Times Poll index for sample survey questions on different topics (click on "Complete Poll Results" under any of the polls listed to view questions).

Email me or leave a comment here if you have any questions or concerns about this assignment.

Remember that the project proposal + first draft is due by 11 a.m. on Thursday, February 5.