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Instructions for Short Essay Assignments
POLSC 110
Prof. Andrew G. Long
Each student will write two essays and upload them to the appropriate file dropbox in KSOL prior to the due dates listed on the syllabus. Each essay should be short (2 pages maximum), formatted in a standard manner
(1 inch margins on all sides, 12 point font, double-spaced) and submitted in a common file format (MSWord,
Open Office, PDF or text).
Instructions for Essay 1: In the first essay, the student will find a current (within the last year) survey and write an essay that accomplishes two goals; 1) describe what one can infer from the poll's results, and 2) discuss how confident one should be in making that inference. The poll can ask about any subject (i.e., it does not have to be about politics). Be sure to describe the sample and the polling methodology that led to the results in your own words (do NOT copy and paste the methodology statement from a website; plagiarism of this type is grounds for a failing grade and referral to the academic honor council). Provide a link to the survey results at the bottom of the essay.
With respect to the first goal, focus on what the survey attempts to tell us about a larger group by asking a smaller group. How does the margin of error affect the inference we draw from the survey? For the second goal of the essay, consider the procedure used to select the sample of respondents (who is asked?) and the type and method of asking questions (what and how are questions asked?). Does the sampling procedure differ from the methods required to get a representative sample of a population (i.e. random sampling)? If so, what sort of population is represented by the sampling procedure? Discuss the sources of bias in the results and the direction the results are likely to be skewed by the sampling process and the survey questions. The lectures and readings on Public Opinion and Voting will help you judge the poll on these criteria.
Instructions
POLSC 110
Prof. Andrew G. Long
Each student will write two essays and upload them to the appropriate file dropbox in KSOL prior to the due dates listed on the syllabus. Each essay should be short (2 pages maximum), formatted in a standard manner
(1 inch margins on all sides, 12 point font, double-spaced) and submitted in a common file format (MSWord,
Open Office, PDF or text).
Instructions for Essay 1: In the first essay, the student will find a current (within the last year) survey and write an essay that accomplishes two goals; 1) describe what one can infer from the poll's results, and 2) discuss how confident one should be in making that inference. The poll can ask about any subject (i.e., it does not have to be about politics). Be sure to describe the sample and the polling methodology that led to the results in your own words (do NOT copy and paste the methodology statement from a website; plagiarism of this type is grounds for a failing grade and referral to the academic honor council). Provide a link to the survey results at the bottom of the essay.
With respect to the first goal, focus on what the survey attempts to tell us about a larger group by asking a smaller group. How does the margin of error affect the inference we draw from the survey? For the second goal of the essay, consider the procedure used to select the sample of respondents (who is asked?) and the type and method of asking questions (what and how are questions asked?). Does the sampling procedure differ from the methods required to get a representative sample of a population (i.e. random sampling)? If so, what sort of population is represented by the sampling procedure? Discuss the sources of bias in the results and the direction the results are likely to be skewed by the sampling process and the survey questions. The lectures and readings on Public Opinion and Voting will help you judge the poll on these criteria.
Instructions