Political science New Directions in Public Opinion
You MUST have these two books in order to write the essay:
Berinsky, Adam J. (editor). 2011. New Directions in Public Opinion. New York: Routledge.
Gamson, William A. 1992. Talking Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Read the Syllabus for the reading GUIDE carefully so you know what chapters of the books you must read and refer to and which pages of the articles you must read.
Write a 4 pages reflection essay based on the interviews (video links attached).
(same video two different angles for clearer body language
You must carefully read all the guideline documents uploaded, and must follow them accurately. I numbered them as #1,#2,#3,etc.
There are additional readings from articles that are related to the interview that MUST BE implemented in the essay. You must read these documents and refer to them in the reflection essay throughout the essay
Although I indicate that there needs to be 15 resources, you should use the two books and any amount that you think are most related to the subject, but make sure its at least 6 article and the 2 books minimum.
THERE SHOULD BE NO OUTSIDE SOURCES, NO OUTSIDE SOURCES. NO OUTSIDE SORCES used in this essay except the two books and the articles I have uploaded.
Things to remember, group work was good
the answers that the other group gave were mostly in a away to please the moderators except for Courtney who was more direct and gave realistic answers
While reviewing your focus group’s video(s), be sure to listen to what is not being said as well as what is being said. Be alert to the nuances of meaning and the language respondents use to express their ideas and opinions. The language people use likely provides insights into how they have formulated opinions and how they think through certain issues. Also watch for non-verbal behavior like shaking heads, eye contact, facial expressions, etc. but be careful about labeling non-verbal behavior that could have many meanings. For example, do folded arms mean that the respondent is uncomfortable with the conversation or that the room was cold?
Pay more attention to the process than the outcome (i.e., how participants are interacting with each other instead of whether or not there was a consensus overall or to a particular question. Divergent thinking can lead to important understandings of opinion formation. This can help us understand the range of opinions that exist and how they may or may not evolve in the presence of those who vocalize differing opinions.
In addition, try to avoid selective listening; be sure you’re paying equal attention to those ideas you support and those you don’t as well as those you anticipated and those you did not. It is very tempting to place more weight on ideas that seem familiar to you for one reason or another because they coincide with your personal beliefs or because they support your hypothesis about your research question, so make sure you’re paying attention not only to what is being said but also any explanations respondents give for their opinions. It’s also possible that focus group participants stated information that you know to be incorrect. But, even misinformation can be informative for ascertaining how people think through various issues.