PST 101—MODULE 2 GRADE SHEET

BASED ON CHAPTERS 2, 3, & 4 revised 9/11/19

Name: Jake Seholm, Paulo Constantino Societal Category: Economic Development
Group #:
Date: 10/8/19
MAXIMUM YOUR
EXERCISE POINTS SCORE COMMENTS

2.1 6
2.2 6
2.3 6 ______
2.4 8 ______
2.5 15 ______
2.6 5 ______

3.1 30 ______

4.1 20 ______
4.2 8 ______
4.3 15 ______
4.4 6 ______
4.5 8 ______
4.6 12 ______

Subtotal for Paper 145 ______

Points Deducted:
Late Paper _____
Writing _____
Organization _____
Participation _____
Skills Win! _____

Total Points Deducted ______

Extra Credit Points:

Competition _____
Speakers _____

Total Extra Credit Points ______

TOTAL GRADE

MODULE TWO 145 ______ #____

(Fall 2019)

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PST 101 EXERCISES – MODULE 2
BASED ON CHAPTERS 2, 3, & 4

**Consider the Formatting & Grammar Guidelines, under the Module tab on the course
website, to be part of the directions for this and all modules.

Failure to complete the two assessments in a thoughtful way could lead to up to a 6-point
deduction on the Skills Win! category under “Points Deduction.”

Skills Win! Exercise: Skill Sets 3 & 7: Communicating Verbally & Gathering Information Skills
Total Points Lost: _____ (Maximum: 6 points)

A. Complete the following.

1. Estimate your level of performance based on the scale below for each of the three skills.
Put parentheses around your selection.

Poor Fair Good Excellent

Skill 9 - Converse One-on-One: 1 2 3 (4)
Skill 10 - Present to Groups: 1 2 3 4
Skill 11 - Use Visual Displays: 1 2 3 4

2. In one sentence, identify and provide evidence for a skill you need to improve the most.

● Place response here:

B. Complete the following.

1. Estimate your level of performance based on the scale in Part A for each of the six skills.
Put parentheses around your selection.

Poor Fair Good Excellent

Skill 23 - Search the Web: 1 2 3 4
Skill 24 - Use Library Holdings: 1 2 3 4
Skill 25 - Use Commercial Databases: 1 2 3 4
Skill 26 - Conduct Interviews: 1 2 3 4
Skill 27 - Use Surveys: 1 2 3 4
Skill 28 - Keep and Use Records: 1 2 3 4

2. In one sentence, identify and provide evidence for the skill you need to improve the most.

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● Place response here:

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Exercise 2.1: Locating Quantitative Data
Your Total Score: _____ (Maximum: 6 points)

Using ProQuest Statistical Insight through the Syracuse University Libraries Website
(http://library.syr.edu), enter a search term relevant to your societal category, and locate a data
table (not a graph) that contains at least three pieces of data, relevant to that societal category. At
least one data point must represent information within the last ten years. Download and print the
table, and circle this point. Attach the printout directly behind the page on which this exercise
appears.

● Write one sentence describing one piece of data from your table, and include an
internal citation here:

● Identify the source organization for this data and indicate that here:

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Exercise 2.2: Finding Newspaper and Magazine Articles
Your Total Score: _____ (Maximum: 6 points)

Using the ProQuest database through the Syracuse University Libraries Website
(http://library.syr.edu), locate a newspaper or magazine article relevant to your societal category
at any geographic level in the United States.
● Do not use an article from an academic journal.
● Attach a photocopy or printout of the abstract/citation page directly behind the page on
which the exercise appears.
● Attach a printout of the page with the quote you are using and highlight the quote.
● Make sure the article was published after January 1st, 2019.

● Quote one full or partial relevant sentence from the article that is related to your
societal category here:

● Write the search term you used to find your article here:

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Exercise 2.3: Locating Books
Your Total Score: _____ (Maximum: 6 points)

Using the library’s Summon search engine on the home page of the Syracuse University
Libraries Website (http://library.syr.edu) find a book on your societal category at any geographic
level within the United States. The publication date of the book must be within the last 15 years.
Books published by the government and eBooks may not be used for this exercise. Attach
photocopies of the title page and the copyright page, with your SUID, directly behind the page
on which this exercise appears. Your SUID (the actual card) must appear on both of the
photocopies. Attach a photocopy of the page with the quote you are using and highlight the
quote.

● Directly quote one full sentence from the book that is related to your societal
category here:

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Exercise 2.4: Using United States Government Publications
Your Total Score: _____ (Maximum: 8 points)

Using the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (http://catalog.gpo.gov), locate one United
States government publication relevant to your societal category at any geographic level.
● 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 format. Their pages are frequently numbered.
● The publication you locate should not merely consist of a brief news
announcement or other informal online information summary. These types of
publications are often posted on the web in HTML format only. The document must be
more than 10 pages long.
● Do not use U.S. Census Bureau information.
● Must be published within the last five years.
● Attach a photocopy or printout of the cover or title page of the document directly behind
the page on which this exercise appears.
● Cite the source you used.

● In no more than two sentences, explain briefly why this source will provide you with
useful information about your societal category by using a full or partial quote from
the publication here:

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Exercise 2.5: Using United States Census Data
Your Total Score: _____ (Maximum: 15 points)

Use data from the 2010 U.S. Census (https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/) to fill out the chart
below with the required information for any county, town or city located in your home state,
for a comparable county, town or city located in any other state that is within 25% of the
population size of your original county, town or city, and for the United States as a whole.
● To obtain data needed for the chart, use the site’s “American Fact Finder” link
(https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/)
● If your county, town, or city is too large to find a comparable county, town, or city within
25% of its population, choose the largest one you can locate with a population of at least
1 million people.
● Fill in the title row of the chart with your corresponding information. Do not leave the
brackets or what is inside the brackets on your chart.
● Do not cite or reference this exercise.
● Indicate what year the data is from.
● Make sure to use the tip sheet given out in class.
● If you can’t find 2010 data, use the next possible year.

[Write Name of [Write name of United States Year

County or City or Comparable
Town and State County or City
here] or Town and
State here]
Population

% Persons 65
years and older
% Black or
African American
% Female

% Owner-
occupied housing
Per Capita
Income ($)
% Persons in
Poverty
% High School
Graduate Or
Higher – Age 25+

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Exercise 2.6: 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, at the
local, state, or national level, suffering from the problem here:

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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 a specific
societal problem in your selected topic for the geographic location you specified. No citation is
necessary for this exercise.

A. Identify an elected government official who serves at the local, state, or national level and
state the geographic location they represent. (10 points)
Part A score: _____

● Write the name and position of an elected government official:

● Write the player’s phone number or 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 they will provide you with useful information by describing one policy
they had worked on previously here:

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

B. Identify a non-elected player from a from a local, state or national government

department. (10 points)
Part B score: _____

● Write the name and position of a non-elected player from a government

department:

● State the government department here:

● Write the player's phone number or email address here:

● Write why they will provide you with useful information by describing one policy
they had worked on previously here:

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

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 C. Identify a player from a local, state or national non-profit organization, public
interest/lobby group, or political organization. (10 points)
Part C score: _____

● Write the name, position, and organization of a player from a non-profit

organization, public interest/lobby group, or political organization here:

● Write the player's phone number or email address here:

● Write why they will provide you with useful information by describing one policy
they had worked on, or by describing one goal of the organization or one service the
organization has provided previously here:

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

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 Exercise 4.1: Gathering Information for and Determining the Purpose of a Survey
Your Total Score: _____ (Maximum: 20 points)

A. Quote the definition for “target population” from the textbook. (2 points)
Part A score: _____

● Place definition here:

B. Select a player you identified in Exercise 3.1 to be your “client.” Hypothesize what the
person might say in response to the following prompts and cite accordingly. Indicate the type of
people who will be surveyed. (18 points)
Part B score: ____

● Name the individual and position copied from Exercise 3.1 here:

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

● Write a specific description of the target population you will sample for your survey
including its geographic location and approximate size (you cannot use any single
K-12 school or a university as your target population) here:

● 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 specific policy the player might develop from the information gathered in
your survey here:

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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 textbook you will use to
contact your sample. (4 points)
Part A score: _____

● State the method using the terms in the textbook:

● Justify why you have chosen to use this method here using information from the
textbook:

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

● Identify the variable here:

● 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:

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Exercise 4.3: Determining Sample Size
Your Total Score: _____ (Maximum: 15 points)

A. Clearly and concisely describe the exact procedures you will take to select the sample and
contact method. Be detailed, and list each step needed. Be realistic. (5 points)
Part A score: _____

● Using a numbered list, write the steps you will follow here:

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

Part B score: _____

● Restate your target population and its size here:

● Indicate the size of the sample of the target population you plan to analyze here:

● Indicate the approximate percentage the sample represents of the target population
here:

C. Discuss and justify the response rate you expect from your sampling frame. (6 points)
Part C score: _____

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

● Justify why you chose this exact rate here:

● Using the formula from the textbook, find how many people you will have to contact
to obtain your desired sample size. Type the full formula and show your work here:

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

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Exercise 4.4: Creating the Questions
Your Total Score: _____ (Maximum: 6 points)

Provide examples of two closed-choice questions for your survey. All response categories must
be shown. Follow the format in the textbook.

● Write the question that will gather factual information here:

● Write the question that will gather attitudinal information here:

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Exercise 4.5: Examining News Media Treatment of Surveys
Your Total Score: _____ (Maximum: 8 points)

Using the ProQuest database through the Syracuse University Libraries Website
(http://library.syr.edu), locate a newspaper article from after January 1st, 2019 that presents
survey results and was conducted on ANY subject in any category, not necessarily the one
studied in this module. The article must be on a target population in the U.S. Attach a copy of
the entire article directly behind the page on which this exercise appears. Highlight the quote.

A. Quote at least one partial or full sentence from the article. (2 points)
Part A score: _____

● Place quote here:

B. Evaluate how thoroughly the article describes the information required by the questions
posed under “Examining News Media Treatment of Surveys” on page 61 of the
textbook. (6 points)
Part B score: _____

● State and discuss one question from the book that the article answers well here:

● State and discuss one question from the book that the article answers poorly here:

● State and discuss one question from the book that the article does not answer here:

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 Exercise 4.6: References
Your Total Score: _____ (Maximum: 12 points)

● Prepare a list of references that includes all sources for this module.
● Follow APA style.
● Use only articles dated back no more than January 1st, 2019, unless otherwise stated in
the exercise directions.

● Start References on the next line or on the next page:

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