Bivariate Presentation Assignment 2011
Date Assigned: November 1/3
Title of Assignment: Bivariate Presentation
Due Date: Posted Video Response-Nov 23; Live Presentation (in tutorial)- see Presentation Schedule
Percentage Value: 15 percent
For this assignment you must create and post a YouTube video which is linked as a response to the YouTube version of this assignment.
Oral communication of research findings is an important yet often neglected skill. Presentation of a bivariate analysis will give you an opportunity to share some of your research with the class and to learn more about the art of oral presentation. Working preferably in pairs, students will prepare a presentation no more than five minutes in length of an effective bivariate analysis. This presentation will have both a live and pre-recorded YouTube component.
Good presentations very briefly outline a research question, a set of findings in a few tables and conclude by indicating the implications both substantive and methodological of the investigation. Generally speaking the investigation should involve three independent variables and a dependent variable measured using an additive index. While students should place close attention to these technical aspects of their analysis in preparing the presentation, their priority should be on the effective communication of results, not the demonstration of statistical virtuosity. Hence presentations must be clear, the analyses thoughtful and tell an interesting story. To ensure this, a set of three hypotheses must be stated and the data analysis should relate directly to these hypotheses.
As you prepare your presentation be sure to ask yourself: Are the hypotheses clear? Are the tables accurate? Do they communicate the analyses clearly and concisely? Are the data properly described and analyzed? Do the conclusions flow from the analyses? Do they refer back to the hypotheses?
You may use any of the statistical techniques we discuss in class. But be sure to provide sufficient detail on the operational definitions of concepts, the construction of indices or other measures, as well as on your statistical analyses so that your findings can be replicated.
Remember that beyond striving for a technically sound presentation, you should also be concerned with the effective communication of your work. This may require re-working things as well as eliminating the unnecessary and the extraneous. Take care to ensure that you express your ideas with clarity and in a way that engages the audience as well as communicating your best analyses.
There are multiple required elements for the bivariate presentation assignment. Take care to leave adequate time to complete each step which include:
1) Since your name(s) should not be used as a label or otherwise appear on your video posting, create an account on YouTube using a pseudonym. Instructions on creating an account are available on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/user/pol242howto. In creating an account please select the name of a town or city and append to it our course code and year. For example, a presentation might be named IzmirPol242y2011 or MonctonPol242y2011);
2) After creating a YouTube account, notify the instructor and TA coordinating the grades by email of the account psedonym under which your presentation will appear. This must be done no later than Friday November 18th at 12 noon. The standard late penalty of 10% per day will apply;
3) Create a PowerPoint video suitable for posting on YouTube. Please ensure that your PowerPoint presentation includes an audible recorded oral commentary. Instructions on preparing a video from PowerPoint using either Windows 7 or the Mac are available on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/user/pol242howto These files can also be located by going to YouTube and searching for pol242howto. Separate instructions are available for the Windows XP and Vista (or 7) operating systems. Students using KeyNote on an Apple machine to prepare their presentations should save their presentation as a QuickTime file.Please note that there is a known problem in using the 2008 version of PowerPoint with a MacIntosh. If you have this particular combination of hardware and software, please consult with the Department of Political Science computer technician at least one week prior to the due date;
4) Upload your bivariate video presentation to your pseudonym account. Instructions on doing so are also available at pol242howto;
5) Once your video presentation is on you own account, you must then link your presenation as a response to the bivariate assignment video on YouTube. The video version of the assignment is entited BV Assignment'11. It is located on the pol242uoft account located at: http://www.youtube.com/pol242uoft; the direct link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRbL7LPoiI8
6) Make an oral presentation at the specified time in the tutorial section for which you (or your partner) are registered. See Presentation Schedule;
7) Have in hand at the live presentation one hard-copy (printed handout) version of the slides forming the basis for your presentation. This copy should be suitable for projection using the document camera in our classroom should there be a technical issue with the powerpoint presentation. Submit the hard copy to the instructor at the end of your live presentation.Your name(s), student number(s) and the pseudonym under which your presentation is posted on YouTube must be printed on the title page of the hard copy of the presentation;
Your presentation of your bivariate analysis should be no more than a ten slides in length and include:
1) a brief summary of the your research question and the specific analytic approach you employ (1-2 slides);
2) the rationale behind both your research question and approach as they relate to the academic literature on the topic (1-2 slides);
3) a description of your findings in the form of carefully constructed presentation quality tables and graphs (3 slides-one for each independent variable);
4) a summary of the patterns you observe, particularly any similarities & differences with your expectations or the findings of the academic literature (1 slide);
5) a conclusion that suggests how your multivariate findings bear on the political issue they concern as well as directions for future research (1 slide)
6) a copy of the syntax which underlies your analysis (1 slide).
An example of bivariate presentation from 2010 is available on the pol242uoft YouTube account. A direct link is: http://youtu.be/4eFxKj8KyUQ