Class 7
Please pick up one “R”, one “A”, final
paper Do’s and Don’ts, Excel training
outline, ,and your agendas/contact logs at
the front table
Words from an Alum
“I am back with Deloitte after a 5 year stint in the
Rendell administration. And just this year was
admitted into the partnership with Deloitte. I think
of you every so often and how I walked into your
office one day and within 30 minutes of talking with
you, I switched from International Relations to
Policy Studies. Thought you might like to see that I
am still a Public Sector champion and working to
stay relevant and make a difference.”
Dale Carnegie Speeches Today
Heather Fountaine
Wanging Luo
Katherine Stewart
Christine Zivica
Agenda Problems
What would you add/remove/change about this agenda?
Agenda Problems
Planning boxes should have a border, be shaded, &
contain a typed #
Planning box #’s should match up with “Time Planned”
#’s
Remember to fill in “Date Done” and “Actual Time”
DO NOT include assignments unrelated to your report
(e.g. Statistics Paper) or due after your report (e.g. Memo
to Client)
Order assignments chronologically by deadline
Note: data entry & analysis should be BEFORE rough draft &
rought draft revisions
In general, plan AT LEAST 30 hours for both your rough
draft & your rough draft revisions
It is a good idea to plan separately for data entry, data
analysis, and graphing
Rough Drafts
Format (guides, NOT templates, below)
Maxwell Manual
Sample Paper on the 315 website
Formatting Guide on website
Not graded, but you must turn something in.
The more you submit, the more comments
you’ll get, the better off you’ll be.
Pick up by Friday 10/21 at 4:30pm in
MAX 102
Cover Sheets
A template for the cover sheet can be
found on the class web site:
http://classes.maxwell.syr.edu/paf315/
All 3 copies of the final report must use
the cover sheet template with your title
on it.
Format of Paper
Title Page
Format of Paper
Exec. Summary
Intro
Methods
Findings
Format of Paper
Introduction
(first numbered pg)
Format of Paper
Methods
How Data Was
Collected
• Instrument Design
• Data Collection
Method
• Target Population and
Sample
Quality of Data
• Representativeness
• Accuracy
Format of Paper
Findings
(one per page)
Format of Paper
Table of Contents
(for items in
Appendices only)
Format of Paper
Code Book
online “How to
Code Data”
or look at the
sample paper
DO’S and DON’T’S for 315 Final Reports
On the Exec. Summary: At the end of each finding you
have the sample size. (n=?) In the findings section, the
rest of the finding statement is identical but don’t put the
sample size in the finding because it is under the title of
the graph.
Difference between n and N: In your report you need
to tell readers the sample size for each of your findings.
You will use a lowercase n when you are using a survey to
collect data and the respondents are a sample or part of
the target population. An uppercase N is used when you
are using records and the number of respondents equals
the entire target population.
DO’S and DON’T’S for 315 Final Reports
Findings on Ex. Summary: Double space between findings which
should be single spaced if more than one line. If single spacing
between the findings will make the Ex. Summary fit on one page, do
that.
Under quality of data in the methods section: Discuss
representativeness and accuracy in at least two different paragraphs.
Remember: representativeness is how well your sample represents
the target population. Accuracy is the degree to which the
information is “truthful.” There can many reasons for raising
suspicious about truthfulness of data including unclear questions,
lying, sloppy record-keeping. Do not be afraid to talk about the poor
quality of data collected. Do not use conclusive statements.
Accuracy deals with truth
Representativeness deals with whether your sample reflects the target
population
Accuracy vs. Representativeness
Hold up “A” when you see a slide that
describes accuracy.
Hold up “R” when you see a slide that
describes representativeness.
Accuracy or Representativeness?
Comparisons based on gender were not
possible due to a lack of information
about the target population.
Accuracy or Representativeness?
Respondents may have been compelled
to provide positive responses because
of fear that the agency would be
displeased with negative feedback.
Accuracy or Representativeness?
The data for the target population
concerning this variable is a year old.
This implies that those respondents in
the age ranges 0-21 and 65+ may be
under represented in the sample, while
those between the ages of 22 and 64
may be over represented. Since people’s
standards and opinions are likely to
fluctuate as they age, this difference
may have impacted the results.
Accuracy or Representativeness?
Since the survey’s intent was to rate
satisfaction levels for the various
services ENABLE offered, the people
who are more likely to respond are
those who have extreme opinions on
the services.
Accuracy or Representativeness?
Certain questions did not have
consistent scales. One such example is
question six in which “timely manner”
was not explained in concrete terms
and therefore may have been
interpreted differently by different
respondents.
DO’S and DON’T’S for 315 Final Reports
Footers-Begin footers on the introduction page. To do
this, insert a section break. (At the end of the exec.
summary, go to insert, break, and select next page
under section break types) Then make your footer on
the introduction page. At the end of the footer type the
word “Page”, and then click insert page number on the
footer toolbar.
Footers in the appendix-Should be the same as the
rest of the paper, but the page numbers in the appendix
should be the roman numeral of the appendix, and then
the page number within that appendix. If appendix II is
data frequencies, and I am on the third page of data
frequencies, the footer should end with “Appendix II-3”
DO’S and DON’T’S for 315 Final Reports
Percentages in findings--Don't use decimals in
percents. If it would round to zero, say <1%.
Additionally, if the %s on the bars do not add to 100%
due to rounding, include that as a comment. When you
are working with a scale under 10, use one decimal.
Single space within paragraphs and double space
between each paragraph. Don’t indent. Do not
write in the first person anywhere in your report.
Utilize: Don’t use that word for the rest of your life.
DO’S and DON’T’S for 315 Final Reports
To Rank or Not to Rank in Bar Graphs-If
the category on the x-axis of a graph is
nominal, such as race or gender, the bars
should be descending in height. If the variable
is ordinal, such as age or how much the
respondent agrees with something, they should
stay in order of the variable (very dissatisfied at
one end, very satisfied at the other end). One
exception is yes/no which should appear in that
order.
DO’S and DON’T’S for 315 Final Reports
Graphing guidelines: Always make bar graphs. If there
are more than 6 bars, use the horizontal bar graph. No
pie charts. No color, no gridlines, no legends. Put data
values at the top of each column. Pay attention to
labeling. The bar’s percentages should equal 100% unless
the respondent had the choice of circling more than one
answer (also in that case, be sure to not include in the
sample the respondents that did not choose any answer).
Do not include “Don’t Know, NA, Other” in the graphs and
sample number unless they provide meaningful
information in the graph. Include those numbers in the
comment section along with open ended answers.
DO’S and DON’T’S for 315 Final Reports
Collapse graphs wherever possible. Remember our workshop
last week? How would you collapse the graphs below?
Respondents' Satisfaction with Home HeadQuarters' Ability to Respondents' Satisfaction with the Knowledge Level of the
Keep Them Informed During the Lending Process Lending Staff
n=76 n=74
Percent of Respondents
47%
Percent of Respondents
50% 70% 61%
45% 40%
40% 60%
35% 50%
30% 40%
25% 24%
20% 30%
15% 7% 20%
10% 3% 3% 7% 4%
5% 10% 1%
0% 0%
Very Dissatisfied Neutral Satisfied Very Satisfied Very Dissatisfied Neutral Satisfied Very Satisfied
Dissatisfied Dissatisfied
Satisfaction Satisfaction
Respondents' Satisfaction with the Amount of Time Between Respondent Satisfaction with the Affordability and Terms of
Completing the Application and Closing Interest Rates and Loans
n=76 n=76
Percent of Respondents
Percent of Respondents
50% 47% 64%
70%
45% 38% 60%
40%
35% 50%
30% 40%
25% 25%
20% 30%
15% 7% 20%
10% 5% 3% 5% 4%
5% 10% 1%
0% 0%
Very Dissatisfied Neutral Satisfied Very Satisfied Very Dissatisfied Neutral Satisfied Very Satisfied
Dissatisfied Dissatisfied
Satisfaction Satisfaction
Collapsing Graphs
1. Respondents were most satisfied with Home HeadQuarters’s affordability and terms of interest
rates and loans (4.4).
Source: Data collected for Home HeadQuarters by Kathleen Ready, Community Link Report, Syracuse
University, 2008.
Comment: Satisfaction ratings were on a scale from 1 to 5 with 1 being “Very Dissatisfied”, 2 being
“Dissatisfied”, 3 being “Neutral”, 4 being “Satisfied”, and 5 being “Very Satisfied”. The above finding
is based on survey questions 4-7. See Appendix II for frequencies. See Appendix III for original bar
graphs.
Which do you use in your findings?
X% of respondents said they were
satisfied with XYZ.
OR
X% of respondents were satisfied with
XYZ.
When making your graphs…
Use a different worksheet for each
graph you make (the tabs at the bottom
of the Excel page).
When you need to go back and make
changes to your graphs (and trust us, you
will need to), it will be much easier.
Dale Carnegie 10/19
Dave Gerster
Patrick Mocete
Brad Rothstein
Mikah Zaslow
Reminders
Due next week:
Rough Draft
If you are having difficulty, make an appointment with Lauren
Wednesday 1:00 to 2:15 PM
Or by appointment at the following times
• Monday: From 10 – 1:30
• Friday: Before 2 PM
I will be holding office hours Monday, 10/17 from 7:30-
8:30 PM in MAXPAL for last minute questions
More Excel Training
Meet in MaxPal lab in 5 minutes.
We will be learning weighted averages
and cross tabulations.