School of Engineering and Applied Science Department of Computer Science CSci 1030 -- Technology and Society http://www.seas.gwu.edu/~mfeldman/csci1030/summer14 Prof. Michael B. Feldman, course instructor mfeldman@gwu.edu

CSci 1030 Social Impact Analysis Project -- 32-point grade contribution, due in Stages
Topic: Technologies in U.S. Elections

Introduction
CSci 1030 Project
Project Stages
Important Note

Introduction

CSci 1030 Project

Your assignment is to (1) research the topic as individuals, (2) discuss it as a class, and (3) design and administer an opinion survey to assess public attitudes about the subject.

I'll assign each student to one of several groups; each group will develop its own survey, and deploy it on the Google docs website. Each group will collate and analyze its data write a report of its findings. ONE final project paper per group is expected.

Project Stages

Because of the compressed course schedule, this project must progress at the rate of one stage per week. Sorry about the fast pace, but this is the only way to get it done in 6 weeks overall. NOTE: all deliverables must be submitted via Blackboard by 11:59 PM (EDT) on the due date.

Week 2 -- Research report (8 points, due Sunday, 7/20): This phase has two parts:

(1) In the appropriate Blackboard discussion forum, briefly describe the voting system in the voting district of your permanent home (city, county, state, etc.). What method(s) or kind(s) of equipment are used? In what year was the system most recently changed? Are the voters basically satisfied with the system, or do they want to see changes in it? Add any other comments you think are relevant. NOTE: If your home is outside the U.S., it's OK to describe the voting system in that country.

(2) In an individual report (approximately 1000-2000 of your own words), briefly introduce each of the most common voting technologies and discuss each one's strengths and weaknesses. Find and report on some recent sources on the state of voting technologies in the U.S.

Check out this recent article in USA Today.

Also, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (epic.org) has a good page on voting and privacy. Much has been written on this subject; try to find sources that are recent, so you're not relying on outdated information.

This is the only individual phase of the project -- it's an individual deliverable because I want to ensure that all students learn as much as they can about the subject before jumping into the group work. Submit your report through the Blackboard assignment-submission process.

Week 4 -- Survey Instruments due and deployed (due Sunday, 8/3): Each group will deploy its survey on Google docs. Be sure you recruit as many as you can of your own family, friends, etc. to take your survey. The more respondents you have, the more representative your survey is likely to be.

Week 5 -- Preliminary Report on Survey Results (8 points, due Sunday, 8/10): Each group will collate, examine, and analyze its survey data and submit a report providing preliminary results. As in the draft, one member of each group will submit the report via Blackboard; all members of a given group will receive the same score (out of 8 points).

Week 6 -- Final Social Impact Analysis Report (8 points, due SATURDAY, 8/16. NOT Sunday -- Saturday is the last day of class!): Each group will write a report based upon the data that contains an abstract, introduction to the subject, discussion of the research protocol, presentation of the findings, conclusions and bibliography. Once afain, one member in each group will submit the group's report.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

• All assignments for this course must be completed under the George Washington University Code for Academic Integrity. Read the section there on plagiarism.
  
• You may use the Internet as a source of information, but others' work must be acknowledged! A quotation from the Internet is just like a quotation from a book, and be written in quotation marks, with a citation (in-line or footnote) to the URL of the site you used.
  
• If you include material from other sources, including the Internet, in your own work, and fail to cite your sources properly, you are risking an Academic Integrity charge of plagiarism!