Assignment InstructionsPart 1—The Survey:
Take the survey found below and then disseminate the survey to four other adults to gather five completed surveys total. You have several options to disseminate the survey. Please choose the method you prefer:
- Download the survey by clicking here.
- Copy/paste the survey questions with the introduction into an email to send out to people.
- Ask survey participants the questions in person or over the phone.
- Create a Google form using these questions and send the survey out via email if you wish.
Survey
Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. The five-question survey is part of a unit assignment for HU345: Critical Thinking at Purdue Global and should only take a few minutes to complete.
- What is your primary news source (e.g., newspaper, TV news, Facebook, Twitter, other social media, etc.)?
- Does the news you read tend to reinforce your pre existing views? (Never, Sometimes, Most times, Every time)
- Do you believe that most of the news you read is backed by good reasoning and facts? (Never, Sometimes, Most times, Every time)
- How often do you research what you find on that source? (Never, Sometimes, Most times, Every time)
- If you do research what you find, what do you do/use to verify the content?
Part 2: Essay
Use the collected data, a minimum of two academic sources, and your own logic to craft a 500-word minimum essay on news sources and critical thinking. Include at least two concepts from the textbook chapter on mass media.
Section I: Introduction
You should have a thesis statement as the final sentence of the introduction. Give the reader the overall claim that the paper will make, so it is clear from the start what you aim to prove in the investigation.
Section II: Survey Summary
Summarize the replies to your questions and highlight one or two interesting things you learned from these surveys. Was there anything that surprised you about these surveys? Why or why not?
Section III: Survey Assessment
Draw conclusions about the process and the answers that were given.
- Do you have any thoughts regarding these sources? Is there research available that speaks to any of your findings?
- Compare and contrast the results of the surveys. Discuss what was similar or different in the responses.
- What did you learn about how these survey participants consume information from the media?
- Use two concepts from the textbook from the chapter on mass media to assess the survey results.
- For instance, do you think social media algorithms tend to provide news media that reinforces the survey participants’ preexisting views? Why or why not?
- Did any of the survey participants get their news from niche media sources? If so, which ones?
Section IV: Conclusion
Wrap up the paper with a conclusion that summarizes the major ideas in the essay, restates the thesis, and supports what the reader should have discovered from the investigation.
