Step 3

HOW TO THINK NON-SCIENTIFICALLY

The best way to get into a non-scientific mindset is to read or watch some popular media sources of information and public opinion polls. Here are some navigational hints to help you find these sorts of information on the Internet.

Try to locate at least one source on the assigned topic in each of the following three areas:

  • A recent newspaper or popular magazine article
  • An “open electronic communication thread” such as online discussion forum or twitter feed
  • Public opinion poll results from existing websites (list provided below)

Copy and paste information and links directly into the relevant fields below.

Provide the following information for the recent newspaper or magazine article:

  1. Author(s):
  2. Article title:
  3. Publication title:
  4. Date:
  5. URL:
  6. After reading the article, briefly outline the popular view of the topic, research activities and government policies or actions.
  7. Provide the following information for the “open electronic communication thread”:

Extract three brief comments that are of relevance to the public’s views on the topic and place them in the table below:

OPEN ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION TYPE (ONLINE FORUM, TWITTER FEED, FACEBOOK…) GIVEN USER IDENTITY/ONLINE NAME COMMENT
USE QUOTATION MARKS WHERE NEEDED
1.          
 
 
2.      
 
 
3.     
 
 

 

Find two online public opinion sites with public opinion facts on the assigned topic. Choose from this list:

  • Angus Reid Institute org
  • COMPAS INC.
  • CROP
  • Decima Research Inc.
  • Canadian Opinion Research Archive CORA
  • Ipsos-Reid Canada
  • Léger Marketing
  • POLLARA
  • Environics Research Group
  • PEW Research Group
  • Gallup
  • Eurostat
  • Eurobarometer
  • World Values Survey
  • OECD

What did you find?

NAME OF PUBLIC OPINION SITE & URL ARTICLE TITLE RELEVANT FACTS ON PUBLIC OPINION
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