In this media assignment, we will examine how quantitative data is used in newspaper
articles. Once you have read the assigned readings listed below, you must then gather
three newspaper articles that use numeric or quantitative data. Fill out all three media
forms and copy/paste the actual newspaper articles into your media forms into your
google document.
Purposes:
To heighten your awareness of the relevance of sociology to what is happening in the
world around you
To begin developing your sociological imagination
To begin teaching you how to read critically and manage information with proper
documentation.
To encourage you to read newspapers and follow current events
To provide a starting point for class discussion this week
Explanation of Task:
Virtually everything in a newspaper can be interpreted sociologically or used as
sociological data in some fashion. We will repeat this exercise regularly, using specific
topics that appear in newspapers. Each time, you will first read a sociological reading
assignment, then find relevant newspaper articles and find a connection between them.
You will be required to provide full, correct bibliographic references every time.
Instructions:
1. Read the following:
• Best, Joel, “Book Excerpt from Damned Lies and Statistics” The Milliken
Institute Review, third quarter, 2001, pp. 65-80. (pdf posted on Google
Classroom)
2. Find three different news articles from a current issue of a daily newspaper that
contain quantitative data.
3. Fill out a media form for each article (Article #1= Media Form A, Article #2= Media
Form B, Article #3= Media Form C). Include a full bibliographic reference, a short
paragraph summary of the article, and an analysis of the article using the assigned
readings for the week and Joel Best.
a. EXAMPLE: Author’s byline last name first, “headline of the article, in
quotes,” name of newspaper underlined, date of the newspaper issue,
section and page where the article appeared.
b. Punctuate the reference as in the above example.
c. If you used an online article, add the following to the end of the reference:
Retrieved on [the date you actually found and printed the article], [the full
url of the article]. This is not the url of the website, but the url of the actual
page, which can be found in the box at the top of the browser window so
you can copy and paste it into your form. The url should also print out at
the top or bottom of your printout.
4. Write a very brief summary of the article in your own words. Don’t copy what the
article says. You will get NO credit if you copy and paste directly from the article!
5. Write a one paragraph analysis that connects the sociological readings to the
newspaper article. Add an in-text citation to the sociological readings you used to
make the connection, with the relevant page numbers in the reading. You must make
a connection and give the reference correctly to get credit