Living in a Social World
Psy 324: Advanced Social Psychology
News Analysis Guidelines
1. Selection and Content: The target of the analysis should be some recent local, regional, or world news event that either illustrates one or more social psychological principles, or that can be better understood by applying one or more social psychological principle.
If at all possible, the event should be referred to by a media service on the World Wide Web (including, but not limited to, those listed on our Tools page), so that we can link it to our site, though in your analysis you may refer to other sources as well. The team must provide the exact url(s) of the page(s) where web coverage is located so that I can establish the link(s). "Exact" here means more than just the general web site of the service -- it has to include precise reference to a particular story. See our web page, "Social Psychology in the News" for examples. Note that you may combine more that one web source -- for example, a picture or graphic from CNN and a news story from MSNBC. Again, see our web page for examples. Pictures and graphics from hard copy sources may be used, if you provide a good quality photocopy of the item(s) and their exact references (e.g., UPI News Photo, New York Times, June 15, 1998).
Note: The selection process should be a team effort. It is suggested that team members individually search for events and sources of graphic and written material, then come together to discuss them and to choose the final target event.
The social psychological principles that are illustrated by the event, or that are used to analyze and understand the event need not be those that are being studied at the time according to the course schedule, though it would be preferrable. Use any relevant material from the text as a resource to inform and enrich your analysis, regardless of our current topic. You may also supplement your analysis using other texts or journal articles.
2. Production and Presentation: The assistants for the course will help you produce any overheads and handouts you want to have for your team's class presentation. They must have the materials 2 days before the presentation in order to do this, however. The assistants will also help you plan your presentation to make it more effective.
The target event and your brief description (1 paragraph) of it, with links to media sources, will be displayed on our class website prior to the meeting in which it is discussed. The paragraph should include at least two www links to relevant sources, and should generally introduce the social psychological issues implied by the article. In order for me to have enough time to post the material, I must have your description, any photos or graphics you want to include, and the exact urls of media sources or graphics, 3 days in advance. Also, in your description, indicate with underlining or with *xxxxx* the text that serves as the hot link to each news source reference (see our web page for examples). One member of the team should email me the paragraph description and urls. Include a suggested title (subject to my editorial approval and whim) -- see "Social Psychology in the News" for examples.
The class presentation of your analysis should have the following qualities:
a. It should involve all members of the team.
b. It should stimulate discussion among members of the class, rather than just being a lecture.
Due by 5:00 p.m. on the fourth day following your presentation is a 2-page summary of the team's analysis, written in APA style and with references and hot links when appropriate. The summary should be sent to me in electronic format, which I will then edit for posting to our website so that it will appear with the item.
3. Grading and Evaluation. The project will be evaluated along the following dimensions: (a) clarity and appropriateness of the connection between the target event and social psychological principles; (b) clarity, rigor, and informativeness of the analysis (which includes the effective use of the WWW medium in terms of graphics and links); (c) effectiveness of the class presentation, (d) involvement of all team members.
As with all team projects, each member of the team will receive a separate grade assigned according to our procedures for assessing individual contributions to the team effort.
Back to Top
Back To Psy 324 Home Page