9/22/14

There is no formal homework if you submitted your paper copy of the survey. If you did not submit your survey to me, then take the time to look it over and revise it.

All survey data must be collected by 10/2.

9/19/14

This weekend's homework is to revise and set up your survey so that it can be implemented next week. Review the comments posted upon and the checklist below.

On Monday, your survey should be submitted on a piece of paper or completed and set up on through either surveymonkey.com or Google Forms. Please reach out to me if you have questions.

Survey Revision Checklist

o  Did I include instructions with my survey?

o  Did I briefly explain the purpose of my survey (and without getting too specific)?

o  Did I leave out a space for the respondent’s name?

o  Did I determine my objectives for my survey?

o  Did I examine each question carefully?

o  Did I try to make each question into a structured/fixed response question?

o  Did I include instructions for each question such as “circle the choice, write the letter, choose all that apply, etc.?”

o  Did I work to make sure that my answer choices are exhaustive and have a range of options so that my subjects can answer in detail?

o  Did I develop the best list I could of all the possible, plausible answers to my fixed response questions?

o  Am I specific whenever possible? For example, do I ask people about a specific meal as opposed to just “when you eat?”

o  DID I PROOFREAD?

o  Did I ask a classmate to review my survey and try to answer all the questions to check for problems with the questions?

9/18/14

Tonight's homework is to complete Assignment 4 and prepare for tomorrow's check-in.

Assignment #4 Designing Samples

The Student Assembly at Baruch College wants to determine which activity students would most enjoy: a dance, an ice cream social, a carnival, or a movie night. The SA has one week to survey students and gather the input it needs to make a decision. Because Baruch has a large student body of over 2,000, contacting each student is not reasonable, so members of the SA agree to contact a sample of students.

1. Several students have ideas on how to gather this information. Consider each of the following suggestions. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of each method.

a. Kira suggests that the thirty Student Assembly members should vote on which activity is most favorable.

b. Dorian suggests that each member ask five friends which activity they prefer. Therefore, 150 students would be sampled.

c. Jewel suggests placing a comment box in the cafeteria, so that any student can participate in the sample.

d. Matt thinks that the SA should select several professors at random and survey students in their classes.

e. Grace knows that the computer in the student records office can select students at random who can be included in the sample.

2. Describe a different method that could be used to generate a sample of Baruch College students to vote on which activity they prefer. Use what you know about sampling to justify your answer.

3. For each of the following sampling methods, identify the groups in the population that are underrepresented.

a. To obtain a sample of households, a consumer reporter dials numbers taken at random from a telephone directory.

b. A car manufacturer wishes to survey a sample of drivers, so he randomly selects the names of car owners from a list of vehicle registrations.

c. A college professor wants to know what percentage of young adults, ages 18 to 22, consider education a top priority. He obtains a list of all students on campus from the registrar and randomly selects names from the list.

d. A radio station wishes to examine the proportion of its listeners who voted in the last presidential election. They conduct a poll by asking listeners to call the station.

4. Now think about how you could sample the student population at School of the Future. How would you distribute your survey in order to obtain representative data.?

9/17/14

If you submitted your draft of the food choice investigation survey, then you do not have any homework.

9/16/14

Tonight's homework is to work on the draft of your food choice survey which is due tomorrow in class. Remember that the survey should be 5 to 10 questions in length (with at least two-thirds fixed response or partially open-ended questions), instructions, no spaces for names, a very brief of the general purpose of the survey/project, and a thank you to respondents.

9/15/14

Tonight's homework is to choose a topic of interest and draft an Essential Question for your food choice investigation project.

Below are the questions that today's classes developed.

• How do peers affect choices about food consumption in SoF students?
• How does the amount of time you have for a meal affect food choices?
• How does hunger affect food choices at home?
• How do parents/guardians/family affect food choices/consumption?
• How do food choices affect learning or school performance?
• How does participating on a sports team affect food choices?
• How concerned are SoF students about their health when they choose what to eat for lunch?
• How does body image affect students' food choices?
• How does one's mood affect their food choices?
• How does the class before lunch affect SoF students' food choices during lunch?
• How does convenience affect food choices?
• How does religion affect food choices? 
• How does one's ethnicity affect food choices?

9/12/14

This weekend's home is to write a survey designed to gather information to answer aspects of the following question(s):

What do SoF students eat for breakfast? How are their breakfast choices determined?

Your survey:
- should be 5 questions in length (or more)
- only use a maximum of one open-ended/or two partially open-ended questions
- the survey should be typed or neatly written
- use specific, concise questions
- include instructions