module+2

PAF 101—MODULE 2 GRADE SHEET
** BASED ON CHAPTERS 2, 3, & 4 **

Name: Societal Category: Group #:

__MAXIMUM__ __YOUR__ __EXERCISE__ __POINTS__ __SCORE__ __COMMENTS__ 2.1 6 2.2 8

2.4 6

2.6 15 2.7 5

4.1 16

4.3 15

4.5 6

Subtotal for Paper __155__

Points Deducted: Late Paper _ Writing _ Organization _ Participation _

__Total Points Deducted__ Extra Credit Points:

Competition _

Speakers _

mnnnnnnnnnn Total Extra Credit Points 2.3 6 2.5 12  3.1 30   4.2 8 4.4 6 4.6 16



**TOTAL GRADE**

** PAF 101 EXERCISES – MODULE 2 **
** BASED ON CHAPTERS 2, 3, & 4 ** Whenever you use a source in your answer, including all quotes, you must provide an APA-style internal citation and a full APA-style reference in the References page exercise, except in the case of personal communications. HINT: Most of these exercises require citations. **Whenever you attach an article, it must be directly behind the exercise in which it appears, and it must be clearly labeled with the exercise number and letter to which it pertains. Attach only the first page of the article unless otherwise stated.** Whenever searching for articles or other sources, do not use any information pertaining to other countries than the United States. Exercise 2.1: Locating Quantitative Data

Your Total Score: _ __(Maximum: 6 points)__ You must use the LexisNexis Statistical Datasets to find a trend line graph and accompanying data table with at least three pieces of data, relevant to your societal category. The data must represent information within the last five years. Use the database’s ‘print’ feature to print out that graph and data table. Attach the print out directly behind the page on which this exercise appears. (6 points)


 * Write one sentence describing one data point from your trend line graph and include an internal citation here:


 * Identify the Source Organization for this data and indicate that here:

Exercise 2.2: Finding Periodical Articles

Your Total Score: _ __(Maximum: 8 points)__ Using the ProQuest Research Library database, locate a news or magazine article relevant to your societal category at any geographic level. Do not use an article from an academic journal. Attach a photocopy or printout of the first page of the article directly behind this exercise. Make sure the article was published within the last six months.


 * Quote one relevant sentence from the article that is related to your societal category here:

Exercise 2.3: Locating Books

Your Total Score: _ __(Maximum: 6 points)__ Using the library catalog, find a book on your societal category at any geographic level. The publication date of the book must be within the last fifteen years. Books published by the government may not be used for this exercise. Attach a photocopy of the title page directly behind the page on which this exercise appears.
 * Directly quote a full sentence from the book that is related to your societal category here:

Exercise 2.4: Using United States Government Publications

Your Total Score: _ __(Maximum: 6 points)__

Using http://catalog.gpo.gov**, locate one United States government publication relevant to your societal category at any geographic level.** > announcement or other informal online information summary. These types of publications are often posted on the web in "HTML" format only.
 * The publication should include a clearly identified "title page" and the names of individual or organizational authors, such as those found within formal government agency reports, newsletters, online journals/magazines, etc. These government publications are often posted in "PDF”. Their pages frequently are numbered.
 * The publication you locate should not merely consist of a brief news
 * Do not use U.S. Census information.
 * Attach a photocopy or printout of the cover or title page of the document directly behind the page on which this exercise appears.
 * No citation is needed for this exercise.


 * In one sentence, explain briefly why this publication will provide you with useful information about your societal category here:

Exercise 2.5: Using Policy Publications

Your Total Score:­­­ _ __(Maximum 12 points)__ A. Using CQ Researcher, find a publication that contains information relevant to your societal category at any geographic level. (6 points)

Part A Score:


 * Using full sentences, quote no more than three sentences from the article that gives you a better understanding of your societal category here:

B. Using the “Contacts” section of the CQ Researcher article, find one of the organizations from the list (preferably a public policy institute), and retrieve a policy paper, working paper, policy brief, or online report from the past five years on your societal category. The “Contacts” section appears once you have opened an article. It is one of the links in the gray column at the left margin of each CQ Researcher publication. (6 points)

Part B Score: _


 * Quote one sentence from the publication that gives evidence of a societal problem that exists within your societal category here:

Exercise 2.6: Using United States Census Data

Your Total Score: _ __(Maximum: 15 points)__

Use the “American FactFinder” on the 2000 online census report ( http://www.census.gov**) to locate the information for your home census area, a comparable census area, and the United States, and fill** out the chart below with the required information from the 2000 online census report.
 * Fill in the top row of the table with the name of a county and the county that is comparable to the original county. Be sure to indicate the state.
 * The comparable county must be similar to your census area, which is a county, in population size. A comparable population is within 20% of the population size of the original county.
 * If you do not use the 2000 online census report, you will lose all points on this exercise.
 * Do not cite or reference this exercise.


 * || [Putnam County]  ||  [Eerie County]  ||  United States  ||
 * Population || 923,459  ||   ||   ||
 * Median Age (years) || 35.3  ||  39.9  ||  35.3  ||
 * % White || 71.3  ||  81.3  ||  75.1  ||
 * % Male || 59.8  ||  48.1  ||  49.1  ||
 * Per Capita Income ($) || 36,726  ||  26,347  ||  21,587  ||
 * % Individuals Below Poverty Level || 8.8  ||  13.9%  ||  12.4%  ||
 * % Vacant Housing Units || 3.5  ||  10.4%  || 9.0 ||
 * % High School Graduate or Higher || 83.6  ||  88.1  ||  80.4%  ||

Exercise 2.7: Narrowing your societal category

Your Total Score: _ __(Maximum: 5 points)__ Based on the research you have done in this chapter, narrow your societal category to a specific societal problem within it. Be sure to state it as a problem.


 * Write your specific societal problem, indicating a specific geographic location suffering from the problem here:

Exercise 3.1: Researching Your Players

Your Total Score: _ __(Maximum: 30 points)__ List three individuals, either a player or a staff person of the player, who deal with your narrowed societal problem, keeping in mind the geographic location you specified. Be sure to follow the prompts listed below.

1.) Write the name and position of an elected government official who serves at the local, state or national level here. State the geographic location that they represent.:


 * Write the player’s phone number and email address here (If instead of an email address you find a site that allows you to send a message to the individual, indicate this and provide a link to the site. This applies to all of 3.1):


 * Write why he/she will provide you with useful information by describing one policy he/she had worked on previously:


 * Write three questions related to your specific societal problem that you could ask the player here:

- -  -

2.) Write the name and position of a non-elected player from a governmental department here. Specify where they work by providing their geographic location.


 * Write the player’s phone number and email address here:


 * Write why he/she will provide you with useful information by describing one policy he/she had worked on previously:


 * Write three questions related to your specific societal problem that you could ask the player here:

- -  -

3.) Write the name, their position, and the non-profit organization or public interest/lobby group they work for here. The non-profit organization or public interest/lobby group may be local, state or national.


 * Write the player’s phone number and email address here:


 * Write why he/she will provide you with useful information by describing one policy he/she had worked on or one service the organization has provided previously:


 * Write three questions related to your specific societal problem that you could ask the player here:

- -   -

Exercise 4.1: Gathering Information for and Determining the Purpose of a Survey

Your Total Score: _ __(Maximum: 16 points)__

A. Select a player to be your “client,” and contact them or a member of their staff. This does not have to be a player from Exercise 3.1. Use the information you get from communicating with this person to answer the following bullets (10 points). After you receive a reply, send your contact a thank you e-mail with a carbon copy (CC) to your TA in the e-mail.

Part A score:

·  Name the individual you contacted, his/her organization, his/her title, and the geographic location where work:

·  Write the individual’s phone number and email address here. (If instead of an email address you find a site that allows you to send a message to the individual, indicate this and provide a link to the site).

·  Briefly describe the purpose of the survey you will be designing here, including a quote from the player that justifies why this survey will be useful:

·  Write a piece of factual information that could be gathered through your survey here:

·  Write a piece of attitudinal information that could be gathered through your survey here:

·  Describe a type of policy the player might develop from the information gathered in your survey here: B. Quote the definition of the term "target population" from the //Maxwell Manual//. (2 points)

Part B score: _

·  Place definition here: C. Identify the target population you will sample for your survey. You cannot use any single K-12 school or a university as your target population. (4 points)

Part C score: _


 * Write a specific description of your target population including its geographic location and approximate size:

Exercise 4.2: Choosing a Sample and Method of Contact

Your Total Score: _ __(Maximum: 8 points)__ A. Indicate and discuss which of the three methods of contact from the //Maxwell Manual// you will use to contact your sample. (4 points)

Part A score: _


 * State the method here: F**ace to face**


 * Justify why you have chosen to use this method here using information from the //Maxwell Manual//: people feel guilty and they will answer the door and give us the survey. this way is very successful and will have a high response rate. It's worth the money and time it takes.

B. Identify one variable you will use to assess the degree to which your sample accurately reflects your target population. (4 points)

Part B score: _


 * Identify the variable here: **Percent of apartment dwellers. 15% of the population.**


 * Explain why the variable you have chosen matters, and why it is important that the distribution of the variable should be similar to the target population: **It matters because it is not related to my survey.**

Exercise 4.3: Determining Sample Size

Your Total Score: _ __(Maximum: 15 points)__ A. Clearly and concisely describe the exact procedures you will use to select the sample and contact the respondents. Be detailed and list each step needed to select the sample. Be realistic. (5 points)

Part A score: _


 * List the steps you will follow here: I will go to random zip codes in new york. I will collect information from several different towns. I will go into a phonebook and rip out every fifth page. I will choose the left collumn.

B. Complete the following steps to determine your sample size and confidence interval. (4 points)

Part B score: _

·Mo vb Restate your target population and its size here: Hudson valley 920,000  Indicate the size of the sample you plan to analyze here: The size of my sample will be very large. Bigger than anything imaginable.

·  Indicate the approximate percentage this represents of the target population here: My target population will represent random people.

·  Indicate the 95% confidence interval of responses from a sample of this size here. 3 % C. Complete the following steps to determine your response rate and required number of contacts. (6 points)

Part C score: _

exact
 * Estimate the
 * response rate you expect for your survey here:


 * Justify the rate you chose here:


 * Write how many people you will have to contact in order to obtain your desired number of responses here:


 * Using the formula from the text, show the calculations that you used to find how many people you will have to contact here:

Exercise 4.4: Creating the Questions

Your Total Score: _ __(Maximum: 6 points)__ Provide examples of two closed-choice questions for your survey. Base one question on the factual information your player identified in 4.1, and base the other on the attitudinal information your player identified in 4.1. All response categories must be shown.


 * Write the question that will gather factual information here:


 * Write the question that will gather attitudinal information here:

Exercise 4.5: Examining News Media Treatment of Surveys

Your Total Score: _ __(Maximum: 6 points)__ Using the ProQuest database or LexisNexis Academic database, locate a newspaper article from the last six months that presents or discusses a survey that has already been conducted on ANY subject, not necessarily the one studied in this module. The article may not be international. Attach a copy of the entire article directly behind the page on which this exercise appears.
 * Quote at least one sentence from the article here:


 * Using the questions under “Examining News Media Treatment of Surveys” on page 54 of the //Maxwell Manual//, evaluate how thoroughly the author reported the procedures followed for the survey here by using at least three questions in your response.

Exercise 4.6: References Your Total Score:___ (Maximum: 16 points)
 * Prepare a list of references that includes all sources for this module.
 * Follow the APA format.
 * Include all sources used in the exercises.

· Start References on the next line or on the next page: **