So the goal of the second paper is to talk to someone you know about their political attitudes and then to analyze those attitudes using some of the concepts we’ve discussed in class. You should go back and watch the mini-lectures on public opinion and re-read the Ezra Klein article on moderate voters before you start working on the paper. So first you’ll pick someone to interview, and you’re welcome to do either an in-person interview with someone in your household or of course, a phone or a video interview with anyone that you like. Make sure to let the person know that you won’t be identifying who they are to me or to anyone else. And then, of course, to keep their information private. When you’re ready to do the interview, read the short introductory paragraph from the assignment sheet, and then ask the four specific questions outlined on the assignment. The interview will cover three issue areas: healthcare, immigration, and climate change. Make sure to take notes as you complete the interview so that you can remember everything that your interview subject said. The next step is to start analyzing your notes. Type up your notes, and start jotting down some initial ideas about how you would categorize each answer in terms of ideology and also whether the interview subject is consistent across the three issue areas. There are specific questions for you to think about on the assignment sheet. And finally, now you’re ready to actually write your paper. So the paper will have three specific sections and should be about two to three pages double-spaced. It definitely does not need to be longer than that. The first section will describe your interview itself, briefly describing the answers to the interview questions that your interview subject gave. Again, make sure you’re not including the person’s name or other identifying information. Next, you’ll discuss your interpretation and analysis of the interview, focusing on how you would categorize the interview subject’s ideology on each of the three policy questions, as well as whether the individual was consistent across the three areas. Finally, you’ll conclude with some thoughts on why the interview subject’s answers might or might not have been consistent, as well as how this interview fits into the broader literature on ideology and public opinion. This final section should NOT just be your personal opinion. It needs to explicitly reference concepts from the class session on public opinion — so the lectures, the reading, or both. When you’re ready to submit, proofread the paper, save it as a Word document, and post it to Canvas.
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