Project 3: Data and Research Studies

Part of the project will be to write a 2-min. radio script for Family Album Radio. Another part will be to construct a data graphic using the Many Eyes site. (We will discuss this thoroughly during class. Don't panic.) The final part is a multi-page wiki section about your team's topic.

Assignment 1

Due Oct. 28.

  1. Familiarize yourself with the topics on the Resources page at the Family Album Radio site. Your team's story idea must fit into one of these topic areas.
  2. Your team will need to find a suitable full-length research article published in a scholarly journal. As a team, you must agree on one full-length research article published in or after January 2008. The material in that article will become the topic for your team's Project 3.
  3. Each person on the team must read and discuss the findings in the article.
  4. Bring a printed copy of the article to class on Oct. 28.

Scholarly journal articles can be accessed in PDF format through the UF library's Web site -- here. To view the complete article, you will need to: (a) Use a computer on campus; or (b) Log in through the library proxy.

If you're torn between two articles, then bring both of them.

If no one on your team knows how to find a suitable scholarly article, download a PDF and print it, you'd better TALK TO ME by Thursday, Oct. 23!

You can listen to past Family Album Radio programs or download scripts -- here.

Assignment 2

Due Nov. 4.

  1. Write a script for Family Album Radio. This script will be submitted in electronic form at the beginning of class on Nov. 4. Your MS Word document needs to show Track Changes from all three of your team members. Details in class on Oct. 28. Please FORMAT your script EXACTLY like these two examples (and see this handout for instructions; PDF, 65 KB):
  2. Gather additional data related to your story topic. This data will be used in an online graphic. Details about this will be given in class on Nov. 4. However, your team should identify and examine suitable data sets between Oct. 28 and Nov. 4. You will show me your data set(s) in class on Nov. 4.

Assignment 3

Due Nov. 12.

  1. Interview two experts about your topic. These will be audio interviews; the audio will be edited and put online. The edited sound bites will be very brief (30 to 60 seconds). What you need to extract from the interview is the most interesting thing the expert said. Usually this will be an anecdote or example -- not a bunch of stats or numbers.
  2. Complete your individual data visualizations and post them in the designated Topic area on Many Eyes by the deadline. NOTE: Each student in the team must complete and post a different visualization (this is an individual assignment). Details given in class.

Assignment 4

Due Nov. 18.

Using the information gathered and the assets produced about your story, the team members will work together to create a story package on a wiki. Using a wiki gives you the ability to collaborate without passing a lot of files back and forth.

Your story has the research article at its core, but the story is also broader than that. The subject matter of the research article has been expanded by your two expert interviews and additional fact finding online.

The wiki page must not contain a traditional story.

> Go to the wiki home page.

> Read the wiki assignment on the class blog.

Grading for Project 3

Total = 20 points

5 points - Radio script (team grade)

5 points - Data visualization (individual grade)

10 points - Wiki pages (team grade)