A.  Objectives — The Pew Research Center is an independent opinion research group that studies attitudes toward the press, politics and public policy issues. The Center is best known for regular national surveys that measure public attentiveness to major news stories, and for polling that charts trends in values and fundamental political and social attitudes. The Center's topology of American voters divides the electorate into ten groups depending on three major elements — personal values and attitudes, party affiliation, and political participation. The Chapter 6 Technology Project, which is designed to measure political ideologies, will be done in two distinct parts: Part One is to be restricted ONLY to you, the student, while Part Two is designed to record the political ideology of a parent or guardian in your home. The process will be identical for each of the parts. You are required to record your results and turn the results in.

B.  Procedures — PART ONE: (1) Review the general topology of American voters by examining the Center's site: "Where Do You Fit?" Print pages One and Two for convenience. Based on the ten-group topology, assess yourself, gauging where in the political spectrum you believe you fall. On a loose-leaf sheet of paper, properly designated with your Name, Date, Class, and Project, write down what topology you appear to fit. This first entry should be labeled: "Expected Topology" followed by the topology that you believe fits you best. Write the description of the topology. For Example: 
 

Expected Topology — Bystander. Very young, poorly educated, with low income. Opt out of politics or ineligible to vote (high Hispanic concentration). Slightly more men than women. Only claimed commitment is environmentalism. 
 
(3) After having recorded which of the ten-group topology to which you believe you belong, take the Center's survey, by completing EVERY question posed. Click here to go to the survey "Where Do You Fit?". (4) After you have taken the survey, tabulate your results. Once again, on your loose-leaf sheet of paper, beneath your "Expected Topology" record your "Survey Topology" as follows:
 
Survey Topology — Secular. Highly educated, sophisticated, affluent, mostly white baby boomers and Generation X. Highly tolerant, driven by social issues. Embrace "liberal" label. Very low in religious faith. Highly pro-environment, moderately pro-government, distrusting of business.
 
PART TWO: On the reverse side of your loose-leaf paper, repeat this topology examination, this time for a parent or guardian in your home. If you printed the pages One and Two for convenience, have the adult review the ten topology groups and note his/her "Parent's/Guardian's Expected Topology." If you did not print up the pages, have him/her review the typologies online with you. No coaching from the student. Record the results as you did for yourself. Have him/her take the survey, as you did. Once again, record the results in similar fashion.

C.  Assessing Your Work — Were you surprised with the results of YOUR topology. Beneath your "Expected Topology" and "Survey Topology," detail if you were surprised or not, and why not. On the reverse side of your paper, the side which pertains to your parent/guardian, note if he/she was surprised by the survey results, and why or why not. Click here for a sample of what your written work should look like.  Turn work in.

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GOVT 2305  American Government and Politics
Cathedral High School, El Paso, Texas
Last updated:  June 2004