Assignments and Assessment

Assignments are stages of one professional survey workflow. Students will demonstrate individual methodological understanding, individual ability to analyze survey data, and effective collaboration on a public-facing research product. Detailed prompts, rubrics, templates, and submission links will be released on Canvas.

Assessment map

Category Weight Responsibility
Preparation and professional participation 10% Individual
R and statistics labs 25% Individual, following guided class work
Individual methods assignments 15% Individual
Univision project milestones 15% Team
Individual poll analysis memo 10% Individual
Coauthored report and presentation 20% Class and section teams
Reflection and contribution statement 5% Individual
Total 100%

R and statistics labs · 25%

Five substantial labs integrate R programming, statistical reasoning, and survey analysis:

  1. R, Quarto, importing, cleaning, recoding, and documenting survey data.
  2. Descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations, measurement, and visualization.
  3. Sampling, simulation, margins of error, confidence intervals, and basic hypothesis tests.
  4. Survey weights, design effects, and weighted estimation.
  5. Regression, predicted probabilities, graphics, and reproducible reporting.

Most lab work will be completed together during class. Each lab concludes with a shorter On Your Own section completed alone. Labs are graded on statistical reasoning, readable and functioning code, reproducibility, appropriate checks, and clear interpretation.

Initial Survey Autopsy diagnostic

During the first class on August 24, all students will evaluate the same intentionally problematic survey before receiving formal instruction in survey methodology. This short exercise is completion-based and is used to identify the class’s starting knowledge. It is not Individual Assignment 1.

Open the Initial Survey Autopsy instructions and download the report

Assignment materials

Individual methods assignments · 15%

Three concise assignments ask students to make and defend methodological decisions.

1. Poll autopsy · 5%

Assigned: October 12 · Due: October 18 at 11:59 p.m.

Evaluate a published poll from its public release and methodological disclosure. Identify the target population, sample source, mode, field dates, question wording, weighting, reported uncertainty, principal claims, and important information that is absent. Conclude with what the poll does and does not permit readers to claim.

2. Measurement and questionnaire critique · 5%

Diagnose a set of survey questions using principles of comprehension, retrieval, judgment, response mapping, question order, response-option design, and sensitive measurement. Revise selected questions and explain how the revisions improve validity, reliability, comparability, or respondent experience.

3. Sampling and mode recommendation · 5%

Given a research objective, population, budget, timeline, and reporting needs, recommend a sample and data-collection design. Address coverage, recruitment, nonresponse, language access, feasibility, weighting, uncertainty, and the limitations that should accompany published results.

Univision project milestones · 15%

Milestones make the collaborative process visible and keep the live project on schedule. They are working products rather than unrelated homework.

Milestone Collaborative deliverable
Project charter Objectives, audiences, claims, roles, decision rules, confidentiality, and timeline
Measurement package Construct map, proposed question module, source questions, and design rationale
Testing package Cognitive-testing protocol, findings matrix, English/Spanish revisions, and unresolved issues
Representation plan Target population, sampling and mode assessment, recruitment, language access, and limitations
Instrument QA Integrated questionnaire review, test cases, mobile/bilingual checks, issue log, and approval record
Analysis plan Outcomes, subgroups, derived variables, weighting use, planned tables and figures, and decision rules

Milestones will normally be evaluated with a short common rubric:

  • methodological justification;
  • completeness and accuracy;
  • use of evidence and testing;
  • documentation and version control;
  • responsiveness to feedback; and
  • readiness for the next production stage.

Individual poll analysis memo · 10%

Each student will independently answer one focused substantive question using the final poll data.

The memo will normally include:

  • a clearly stated research question;
  • a brief explanation of the relevant survey measures;
  • documented cleaning and recoding decisions;
  • appropriate use of survey weights;
  • descriptive estimates and uncertainty;
  • one justified subgroup comparison or introductory model;
  • at least one publication-quality visualization;
  • a concise interpretation for a policy or public audience;
  • limitations; and
  • reproducible Quarto source code.

Students may work from a shared, quality-controlled analysis file, but the analytical choices, code, verification, and prose in the memo must be their own.

Coauthored LBJ/Univision report and presentation · 20%

The class will produce one coherent professional report. Teams will take primary responsibility for substantive sections, but all students are responsible for reviewing the complete report and ensuring that its claims, methods, graphics, and tone are consistent.

The report should include:

  • an executive summary;
  • a concise explanation of the research purpose;
  • a transparent methods statement;
  • substantive sections organized around clear research questions;
  • accurate tables and accessible graphics;
  • appropriate discussion of uncertainty and limitations;
  • documentation sufficient to reproduce all published statistics; and
  • a short partner briefing or public presentation.

A section-team model gives students meaningful ownership without producing a collection of disconnected papers. The final document must read as one report rather than several assignments pasted together.

Public release, authorship order, branding, acknowledgement of student contributors, and access to the data after the semester will follow the final partnership agreement.

Individual reflection and contribution statement · 5%

The final reflection will:

  1. document the student’s specific contributions;
  2. identify evidence of those contributions in the project record;
  3. explain one consequential methodological decision;
  4. evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the completed project;
  5. describe what the student learned about collaboration; and
  6. propose one improvement for a future polling cycle.

The contribution statement provides accountability, but it is not a competition over who reports the greatest number of tasks. Quality, reliability, documentation, and support for the team matter.

Evaluation principles

Across assignments, work will be evaluated on:

  • methodological reasoning;
  • statistical accuracy;
  • reproducibility and documentation;
  • clarity and audience awareness;
  • ethical and professional judgment;
  • responsiveness to evidence and feedback; and
  • contribution to the collaborative process.

A polished output cannot compensate for an indefensible method, and technical sophistication cannot compensate for unclear communication.