In this paper assignment you will be writing a double-spaced 5-to-6-page memo (12 pt. font, 1 in margins) to the reporter, Minerva Baumann, about her article.
The premise: you and Baumann (the author of the news article) are part of a guild of writers who are working to improve the accuracy and clarity of their social science reporting. As part of this project. you periodically review each other’s stories and you’ve been assigned to write a review of “Study Gauges Americans’ Views on Military Intervention” by Minerva Baumann.
Questions to address in your write-up:
What was the researchers’ theory?
What were their hypotheses?
What was their sample? What does that mean in terms of whom they can generalize to?
What method(s) did they use? What does that mean in terms of limitations?
How did they conceptualize and operationalize their variables? Were those conceptualizations and operationalizations valid and/or reliable?
What were the strengths and weaknesses of the original research?
What kind of evidence does the study provide?
What do we still need to know from the study?
Did the news report capture the strengths and weaknesses of the original research?
Did the news report properly contextualize the original research in the literature?
Did Baumann run into typical problems of journalistic writing about science?
Is the language used in Baumann’s article appropriate given what was established in the original article?
How do we avoid any problems encountered in this case in future science journalism?
What was successful in the write-up that might be a good model for the future?
