Public Opinion about Federal Government
Measure public opinion about the federal government
This report will be in APA format, including a cover sheet, page numbers, double-spaced, and free of spelling and grammar errors. Do not write an abstract.
Write a short report including the following sections, with headings centered as shown. Write one paragraph for each section below – one paragraph for Introduction that answers the questions for that section, three paragraphs for Data Collection that answer the questions for that section, two paragraphs for Results, two paragraphs for Discussion, and two appendices.
(Paragraph 1)
What were you trying to find out in this project?
Introduction
What is the purpose of your project (choosing from the three purpose options discussed in class), and why is that an appropriate purpose?
Why should people be interested in this topic and your results? Data collection
(Paragraph 2)
What were your five dependent variables?
For each variable, identify the attributes (answer choices) and level of measurement. Address all five dependent variables.
(Paragraph 3)
What were your five independent variables? For each variable, identify the attributes and level of measurement.
(Paragraph 4)
Define your concepts. For each of your concepts that have an ambiguous meaning, how did you define it for the purposes of your project? (e.g., if you asked about “crime” or “exercise”, what is the definition of “crime” or “exercise” for the purposes of your project?)
In the same paragraph, explain whether this a cross-sectional or longitudinal study, and why? Results
(Paragraph 5)
To present your results, identify the most popular and least popular answer given for each of your five dependent variables, along with the percentage of respondents who provided those answers.
(Paragraph 6)
Do the same for all five independent variables.
In these two paragraphs, don't include your opinions or interpretations, just the results themselves. Write in full sentences, not a chart or graph or list.
(Paragraph 7)
First, what is your overall result – i.e., you explained in your Introduction what you were trying to find out, so what’s the answer?
Second, what are the implications of your results? In other words, what do they tell us? How would you answer if someone asked, "So what?" about the results you discovered in your research?
(Paragraph 8)
Third, share at least two reflections on the survey you created. Did you find that anything in it limited its validity or reliability? If you could do it again and had more time, what would you do differently, and why? Or, if you think it was perfect, what made it work well?
Appendix A
On its own page, include your codebook.