Political Science 319
Public Opinion
Dr. Sellers
November 5, 2007

Paper #4

In your earlier papers for this class, you developed survey questions on your assigned issue, as well as expectations about how students might respond to your questions, and how various independent variables might influence those responses.  In this final paper, you use the survey results to determine the validity of these expectations.

Your paper should do several things:

1. Clearly state your expectations, as well as briefly explain the rationale behind those expectations.  Make sure that you incorporate any changes to those expectations that I suggested in your earlier papers. 
2. Briefly describe the data and variables that you will use to test those expectations. 
3. Present the results of your analysis of those expectations and variables, using the statistical approaches presented in class. 
   1. At least one variable in your regression model needs to produce significant results.
   2. Your model needs to include at least one independent variable capturing variation in question format.
   3. You need to provide predicted values to supplement the estimated coefficient from your regression model.
4. Discuss the broader implications of your results.

Your paper should be typed, with 1-inch margins and a font no smaller than 10 point.  The paper can be either single- or double-spaced.  The first page of your paper should include identifying information (name, etc.). After this first page, the actual test of your paper has maximum length of two pages; when grading, I will not read any material past the second page (except notes).  Place any tables on separate pages (and not in the text); pages with tables are not included in the two-page limit.  Make sure that you label or number your tables, and that you refer to that number when you mention the content of a table in the text of your paper.  

Create your tables in Word or Excel, by typing in the relevant numbers from your hard copies of Stata printouts.  In the tables that you create, only include numbers or statistics that you mention in the paper; omit any irrevelant numbers or statistics.  Do not include Stata tables (taken directly from the output) in your final paper; these Stata tables often include extraneous numbers and statistics that make the tables hard to understand.

The paper should contain appropriate in-text citations for any sources used; if footnotes or endnotes are used for these citations, the notes can be placed on a page after the two main pages of text.  The paper is due at the start of class on Wednesday, November 28.  Papers turned in 10 minutes after the start of class will be considered late.  Paper grades are lowered by ten points (out of 100 total points) for each 24-hour period (after the start of class) that they are late.  Finally, the assignment is bound by the Honor Code; make sure that you pledge your work.