"Margin of Error" in the Media
Assignment instructions:
For this analysis, find an article reporting survey results with a margin of error. Is the margin of error correct? Does the article attempt to explain what a confidence interval is? Is the confidence level of the margin of error given (and is it correct)? How well does the author use the language of statistics in the article? What about the article's title? Does it attempt to exploit statistical ignorance in true Yellow Journalism fashion, or is it so vague as to be "statistically correct"?
NOTE: Your article should come from a recognized publication: a newspaper, magazine, or journal, published within the last two months. You may use a print article, or an article you accessed through one of the library's databases (such as Lexis-Nexis).
A couple of recommended databases:
Use your NetID and password if accessing these databases from home.
- Lexis-Nexis is a full-text database of hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles. Using the Easy Search (default), type in something like "margin of error" and survey to find relevant results. Be sure to limit by date range (Specify date: Previous 3 months). Use the check boxes next to Search within to choose which publications you want to search. Clicking on the blue i button will show you the sources searched in each category.
If you want to search in a particular source, like the Chicago Tribune, click on the Sources tab at the top of the screen. Type in the name of your source in the search box, then check the box next to the appropriate source in the search results. Click on the OK - Continue button. This will bring you to a similar search screen as before, except now you are only searching within this publication. Use the same search terms as above, and remember to limit by date range.
- Academic Search Premier searches magazine and journal articles from thousands of periodicals in all disciplines. Use the search boxes to separate search terms--in the first box, type in margin of error. In the second, type in survey. In the third, you may choose to type in the name of a specific journal or magazine--be sure to select SO Journal Name in the dropdown box, if you do so. Specify a date range by using the green section below the search boxes (Published Date from). When you click Search, your search boxes stay at the top of the screen, so you can modify your search, if necessary.