***ThisassignmentwasfarmoredifficultthanIanticipated!

Thatbeingsaidtherewere
thingsIwasn'tsureofhowtoanswer,soImadethempurpleanditalicized.***

Yourname:MaddieKilgannon

PROJECT#1

1.
Topicarea#1youwishtoexploreforCapstone:
Themedia'seffectonelections

2.Listassortedquestionsthatyouwouldgenerateaboutyourtopic(feelfreetoenlargethe
boxbelowifyouneedmorespace).
Whateffectdoesamediaendorsementhaveonvoters?
Howdoreportersremainunbiased?
Docolumnistsorreportershavealargerimpactonvoter'sopinions?
Whichcoverspoliticsmoreextensively,localnewsornewpapers?
Intermsofcampaigns,howdoeslocalnewsversusnewspaperscoverthesamestory?
Whichdemographicsreadthenewspapeprregularly?
Whichdemographicswatchthenewsregularly?
Isthereacorrelationbetweencoverageandvoterturnout?
Whatplatformsofthemediadocampaignsprimarilyuseandwhy?
Whydocampaignsusemedia?
Aretherehigherratings/viewersforTVnewsduringelectionseason?
Howeffectiveisthemedia?
Whatisthegoalofthemedia?
Docampaignshirepeoplejusttomanagemedia?
Isthereacorrelationbetweenwinninganelectionandmediapresence?
Isthereacorrelationbetweenlosingandelectionandmediapresence?

3.Revisitthequestionsyouplacedintheboxabove.

colorthequestionsthataretoosimple/deadend:RED
colorthequestionsthathavesomepotential/possibilities:BLUE
colorthosequestionsthathavesignificantpotentialthosethatcouldleadtootherrich,
thoughtprovokingquestions:GREEN


4.Fromthequestionsyouvecolored,reformulatethosequestionsintoseveralpossible
questionsaboutyourtopicthatapproachwhatmightbeapotentialessentialquestion.

Howdoesthemediacovergeofanelectioneffectvoterturnoutincertaindemographics?
Howdoesamediaoutletdecidewhichcandidatetoendorse,andwhateffectdoestheir
endorsementhave?
Whateffectdoesthemediahaveonelections?
Doesthemediahaveagreatereffectonnationalorlocal/stateelections?

5.Nowrefineyourquestionsintheboxaboveintoasingleessentialquestionthatyouthink
mightworkforyourproject.Putthatquestionintheboxbelow.

Whateffectdoesthemediahaveonelections?

***Isthisquestiontoosimple?I'mhavingtroublewiththispart.***

6.Now,evaluateyourproposedessentialquestionaccordingtothefollowingcriteria:

Doesyouressentialquestionmeetthefollowingcriteria?

Youressentialquestionisopenendedthatis,ittypicallywill

nothaveasingle,final,andcorrectanswer.
Yes

No

Youressentialquestionisthoughtprovokingandintellectuallyengaging,oftensparking
discussionanddebate.
Yes

No

***Ithinkthatthisiswheremyquestionneedswork,butIamnotsurehowtophrasemy
questioninawaythatwouldmakemeconfidenttocheck"yes"***
Youressentialquestioncallsforhigherorderthinking,suchasanalysis,inference,evaluation,
prediction.Itcannotbeeffectivelyansweredbyrecallalone.
Yes

No

Youressentialquestionpointstowardimportant,transferableideaswithin(andsometimes
across)disciplines.
Yes

No

Youressentialquestionraisesadditionalquestionsandsparksfurtherinquiry.
Yes

No

Youressentialquestionrequiressupportandjustification,notjustananswer.
Yes

No

Youressentialquestionrecursovertimethatis,thequestioncanandshouldberevisited
againandagain.
Yes
No

7.Basedontheaboveassessment,doyouhaveanyrevisionstoyourquestion?Ifyes,
reviseitintheboxbelow.Ifno,thencopythequestionyoustartedwithintotheboxbelow.

Whatresponsibilitydoesthemediahave?
Maddie

Whatyousaidinclassistheperfectessentialquestion(withafewtweaks):

Howdoesthemediapresentcandidatesandpoliticalissuesandwhateffectdoesthathave
onthepolls?

Ifthatsyouressentialquestion,itworksperfectlyforwhicheverrouteyourprojecttakes.

Sothequestionnowishowtofigureoutwhattheparametersofyourprojectmightbe.
Clearlythefocusonthegubernatorialelectionisideal.Youcouldfocusontheprintmedia
(withtheironlineTwitterandothersites)inBoston.IftheinternshipattheGlobeworks,
youcouldcomparecoverageandstrategiesforcoveringtheraceattheGlobeandthe
HeraldandfocusonBostonareavoters.Ifitdoesntwork,maybeyoudoasimilarproject
usingTVmediaaswell.

Nowtosynchronizeandanalyzethevoterresponsetothismedia,youareclearlygoingto
needtodointerviewsand/orsurveys.Heresathoughtwecameupwith:whatifthis
weekend(andyouneedtodoitsoon,givenwhatyourtopicis),youidentify1520
undecidedvoters(inthegovernorrace)andyougivethemaquestionnaireidentifying(a)
dotheyreadtheGlobeorHerald?Onlineorprint?Whatfactorsinfluencetheirvoting?Do
theyvoteregularly?Occasionally?Howdotheygettheirnews(beyondthe
Globe/Herald)?Aretheyinfluencedbyotherfactorswhentheyparticipateinelections?

Then,asyouaretrackingGlobeandHeraldcoverage,youcouldshootyoursurveygroup
regularemailsthataskDidyoureadthisweeksCapitolsection?Didyoureadthis

articleaboutCharlieBaker?ThisoneaboutMarthaCoakley?Trytotrackwhattheyare
lookingatandwhattheyareignoring.
Dothisregularlythroughtheelection(andmaybetracksomeofthesefolksastheygointo
thevotingbooths,iftheyllletyou,onelectionday).Trytoseeiftherearecorrelations
betweenthisevolvingthinkingandtheirdecisiononwhotovotefor.Seeifyoucanidentify
WHENintheprocesstheydecidetovoteforaparticularperson.

Thechallengewillbethatallofthiswillinvolveveryintenseworkofdatacollectionoverthe
nextsixweeks.Youneedtousethetimetocollectmaximumdate,bothfromthepapers
andtheirjournalistsandthereadersandtheirresponses.Youcandevotethetime
postNovember4toanalyzingwhatyoufoundindetail.

Wedontthinkyouneedtodelveintofundinganddonationsperseorothersocialmedia,
asbothwouldmakeyourprojecttoobroadandoverwhelming.Thedeeperyoucangoon
oneaspect,thebetter.LetshopetheGlobeinterviewgoeswell.

MsFandMrM

8.Now,answerthefollowing:

(a)Whyareyoupursuingthisessentialquestion?

BecauseIwanttofindoutwho/what/when/where/whether/why/howto:
BecauseIwanttofindouttherelationshipbetweenthenewsandpolitics.

(b)SowhydoIwanttodothat?

Inorderto:
i. helpmyaudienceunderstandhow/why/whether
Helpmyaudienceunderstandhowthemediathattheyareexposedtoeverydayaffects
them,andinwhatway.

ii. makechangeinthisdirection:
Justbemoreconscious.

***I'mnotsureyet.***

iii. tocallattentiontothesethings:
Therelationshipbetweenthemediaandtheresultofelections,orhowelections/campaigns
run.

(c)Whyisthisrelevanttoanyoneintodaysworld,totheirdailylives,tothefutureof
theplanet?
Voterappathyisbecomingmorecommon,andIwouldliketoresearchifthemediaispartof
that.Andinwhatway.

(d)Isthatreallythemostrelevantthingaboutit?Bottomline:sowhat?Whyshould
wecareaboutyourproject?
Politicsareimportant,whetherapersonchoosestoparticipateornot,itaffectsthem.
Therefore,Ithinkthatvotersneedtohaveabetterunderstandingofhowapersongets
elected.

(e)Seriously,isthatthemostyoucansay?Really,truly:whyshouldwecareabout
yourproject?
Thiscouldpotentiallychangethewaypeopleviewthemedia'scoverageofelections.

(f)Haveyouanymoreanswerstothequestionsowhat?Whatdoesthismatter?
Whyisitworthspendingyourenergyonthis?
***Idon'tfeellikeIhaveenoughinformationtoanswerthisquestionyet,Ijustdon'tknow.I
thinkonceIdomoreresearch,Iwillhaveabetter"sowhat"answer....Ihope.***

**********************************************************************************************************
PROJECT#2

1.
Topicarea#2youwishtoexploreforCapstone:
PoliticalPolling

2.Listassortedquestionsthatyouwouldgenerateaboutyourtopic(feelfreetoenlargethe
boxbelowifyouneedmorespace).
Howispollingfunded?
Isthewayapollisfundedpublicinformation?
Whatisanaccuratesamplesize?
Howisthemarginofareacalculated?
Whodoespollingbenefit?
Isthereacorrelationbetweenpollingandvoterturnout?
Howaccurateispolling?
Whenispollingmostaccurate?
Howarepollingquestionsformulated?
Whowritespollingquestions?
Isthereacorrelationbetweenpollingandvoterturnout?
Whateffectdoespollinghaveonpoliticians?

3.Revisitthequestionsyouplacedintheboxabove.

colorthequestionsthataretoosimple/deadend:RED
colorthequestionsthathavesomepotential/possibilities:BLUE
colorthosequestionsthathavesignificantpotentialthosethatcouldleadtootherrich,
thoughtprovokingquestions:GREEN

4.Fromthequestionsyouvecolored,reformulatethosequestionsintoseveralpossible
questionsaboutyourtopicthatapproachwhatmightbeapotentialessentialquestion.
Inwhatwaysdoespollingeffectvoters,politicans,andthemedia?
Whydoesanorganizationchoosetoconductapoll?

5.Nowrefineyourquestionsintheboxaboveintoasingleessentialquestionthatyouthink
mightworkforyourproject.Putthatquestionintheboxbelow.
Whateffectdovariestypesofpollinghaveonelections?
HelloMaddie,


Inyourpresentationyoualludedtoanessentialquestionandnumberofrelatedquestionsyouwant
toexplore:

Whateffectsdovarioustypesofpollinghaveonelections?

a.Whoconductspollsandforwhatpurpose?

b.Isthepurposeofpollingtoinfluencevotersorpoliticians?

c.Isthereacorrelationbetweenhighpollnumbersandhighfavorabilityor
voter
turnout?

Let'sthinkabouthowthisresearcheffortmightunfold.Youwillneedtodoresearchonafew
fronts.Youneedtoidentifyafewspecificpollstostudy.Thenyouneedtocontactthegroupsthat
createthesepollsinordertoanswerelementsofquestionsa,bandc.

Yournextstepwouldbetodosomepollingofyourown.Perhapsyouimplementasimilarstrategy
totheonedetailedinthefeedbackforyourfirstessentialquestion.Trackagroupofvotersandtheir
exposuretopollingdata.Afterapollisreleasedyoucouldemailthesevotersaquicksurvey:Did
youseeorheartherecent_____poll?Wherewereyouexposedtothisinformation?Whatdidyou
takeawayfromtheexperience?Whatimpactdidithaveonhowyouviewcandidatesandissues?
Thegoalwouldbetoseeifandwhenexposuretothepollsbeginstochangeorinfluencethese
voters.

Theotherfacetofyourquestiondealswithpoliticiansandtowhatdegreepollnumbersinfluence
them.Inordertoanswerthisquestionyoucouldinterviewpoliticians,butyoushouldalsotrackany
changesintheirmessages,decisionmaking,aswellascampaignintensityanddirectionafterpolling
dataisreleased.

Thereispromisehere,butyouhaveanumberofthingstoconsider.Youshouldalsoconfrontthe
"sowhat?"questionandthinkabouttheformofyourfinalproduct.

Best,
Mr.MandMs.F

6.Now,evaluateyourproposedessentialquestionaccordingtothefollowingcriteria:

Doesyouressentialquestionmeetthefollowingcriteria?

Youressentialquestionisopenendedthatis,ittypicallywill

nothaveasingle,final,andcorrectanswer.
Yes

No

Youressentialquestionisthoughtprovokingandintellectuallyengaging,oftensparking
discussionanddebate.
Yes

No

Youressentialquestioncallsforhigherorderthinking,suchasanalysis,inference,evaluation,
prediction.Itcannotbeeffectivelyansweredbyrecallalone.
Yes

No

Youressentialquestionpointstowardimportant,transferableideaswithin(andsometimes
across)disciplines.
Yes

No

Youressentialquestionraisesadditionalquestionsandsparksfurtherinquiry.
Yes

No

Youressentialquestionrequiressupportandjustification,notjustananswer.
Yes

No

Youressentialquestionrecursovertimethatis,thequestioncanandshouldberevisited
againandagain.
Yes
No
***Iamnotcompletelysureyet.***
7.Basedontheaboveassessment,doyouhaveanyrevisionstoyourquestion?Ifyes,
reviseitintheboxbelow.Ifno,thencopythequestionyoustartedwithintotheboxbelow.

Whateffectdovariestypesofpollinghaveonelections?

8.Now,answerthefollowing:

(a)Whyareyoupursuingthisessentialquestion?

BecauseIwanttofindoutwho/what/when/where/whether/why/howto:
Tofindoutwhypollsareconducted?

(b)SowhydoIwanttodothat?

Inorderto:
i. helpmyaudienceunderstandhow/why/whether
Tohelpmyaudienceunderstandtheeffectofpolling

ii. makechangeinthisdirection:
Bemoreconsciousperhaps

iii. tocallattentiontothesethings:
Everythingthatisbehindthecoldpollingdata

(c)Whyisthisrelevanttoanyoneintodaysworld,totheirdailylives,tothefutureof
theplanet?
IthinkthatthisismorerelevanttoAmericans,becauselookingatpolingonaninternational
levelwouldbefartoooverwhelming.

(d)Isthatreallythemostrelevantthingaboutit?Bottomline:sowhat?Whyshould
wecareaboutyourproject?
Itisrelevantbecauseforeverymajorelectionpollsareconductedsomyquestionis,why?

(e)Seriously,isthatthemostyoucansay?Really,truly:whyshouldwecareabout
yourproject?
Isthepurposeofpollingtoinfluencevotersorpoliticians?Eitherway,iteffectsthewaya
votershouldviewpolls.

(f)Haveyouanymoreanswerstothequestionsowhat?Whatdoesthismatter?
Whyisitworthspendingyourenergyonthis?
Notatthispoint.