This semester-long project should demonstrate your mastery of our course learning goals. Using information recorded in the U.S. American Community Survey (ACS – available from 2005 to 2020), you will create and present two polished, well-designed data visualizations that investigate and make an argument about how to interpret this 21st century information within the larger context of Latino history.
Project Learning Goals:
After completing this assignment, you will be able to
- Construct a substantive research question about contemporary Latino communities in the United States.
- Analyze quantitative and qualitative primary sources to make an argument about how to interpret contemporary issues in historical context.
- Interpret quantitative scholarly sources, and explain their conclusions.
- Download ACS data into Excel and perform the appropriate statistical analysis to answer your question.
- Explain how ACS questions and the categories the census uses to classify people reflect U.S. federal priorities.
- Create two different types of data visualizations (your choice from chart, table, or maps) that support your argument and demonstrate your design skills.
- Effectively communicate your research findings in a short oral presentation (pecha kucha).
Your prospectus will serve as the foundation for this research project. You’ll communicate your findings (and interpret your two data visualizations) in a 5-minute oral presentation (pecha kucha).
Full project specifications are detailed below, but here are some key dates to help you plan:
- Final Project Planning Work Days: Friday, March 10 & Monday, March 27
- Research Prospectus due Wednesday April 5 (100 points)
- Pecha Kucha Oral Presentation Workshop: in class on Weds, April 5
- Peer Review of 2 Data Visualizations: Monday, April 10 (complete reviews by midnight)
- 2 ACS Data Visualizations & project memo due on Friday, April 14 (100 points)
- Upload .mp4 recording of your Pecha Kucha presentation to our class Stream on Sunday, April 16 (100 points)
- Class discussion of student projects: Weeks 13 & 14
Prospectus
Your prospectus is a key stage in defining your project, identifying high-quality primary and secondary sources to use as evidence, and explaining how your research relates to class themes.
Your prospectus will have three parts: an abstract that serves as an “executive summary” of your project; a brief description of the ACS data you will analyze; and an annotated bibliography with your analysis of primary and secondary sources.
100 points. Due before class on Wednesday, April 5: upload pdf to Moodle.
Prospectus Specifications
Part 1: Abstract
- Your abstract is a well-crafted paragraph that explains your project and why it is important. It should address (in about 1-2 sentences each):
- Topic: What is the main topic around which your project is structured? Why is this topic interesting and worthwhile? (Ex.: “Puerto Rican forces played an important role serving in the U.S. armed forces during World War II.)
- Gap: What part of your topic do you think is understudied or overlooked in existing scholarship? This sentence demonstrates that your project represents a piece of original research, rather than a rehashing of existing work. (Ex.: “Although there is a lot of research looking at the contributions of Puerto Rican men, few scholars look at women’s participation in the U.S. military.”)
- Sources: What ACS variables will you use for your project (see Subjects Included https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/guidance/subjects.html )? What years and geographic locations will you focus on? Why did you pick these variables? (Ex.: “Using the variables for sex, Hispanic or Latino origin, class of worker, and veteran status, I want to find more details about the percentage of Puerto Rican women veterans, and about how their participation compares with the service of non-Hispanic women. For my second data visualization (map), I want to see if veteran status is the same for Puerto Rican women living on the island as compared to those living in the mainland United States.”)
- Methodology: What statistical approaches will you use to analyze these sources? (Ex.: “I will use frequency tables to look at veteran status by ethnicity and gender.”)
- Limitations: What limits are placed on your research by the way the ACS categorizes data and the questions it records?
- Conclusion: Explain the larger significance of your project – the “so what?”
Part 2: American Community Survey Variables
- Identify the two (or more) most important variable you’ll examine from the ACS microdata.
- For each variable selected, explain:
- What this variable measures (look at the exact question).
- The level of measurement (nominal, ordinal, etc.….)
- What year and geographical location you’ll focus on.
- Why the Census Bureau includes this variable in the ACS, and how it reflects U.S. government priorities.
- The questions this variable will let you research, and any limitations to the kinds of questions you can ask. (For limitations: How does the Census Bureaus and other government sources shape the information available to historians?)
Part 3: Annotated Bibliography
- Your Annotated Bibliography presents your careful analysis of the most important sources for your research question.
- Your bibliography will include annotations for four sources:
- a reference (encyclopedia) article that provides historical context for your topic. Note: do no pick Wikipedia for this part of your research.
- a scholarly research source that analyzes quantitative evidence about your topic.
- a scholarly research source that places your topic within its larger historical context.
- a primary source that gives qualitative evidence for your topic.
- These sources must all be high-quality, pertinent sources for your research question.
- The sources cannot include book reviews. If you’re interested in the source, write the annotation for the book itself (not somebody else’s review of it.)
- Your annotation needs to make it obvious that you’ve READ this source by including specific information (not just info I could gather from reading the title).
- Each entry will include a full citation for the source, formatted in Chicago style.
- Each paragraph-long annotation will:
- Summarize the topic of the book/article
- Evaluate the authority or background of the author
- Explain the author’s main argument and use of evidence
- Compare or contrast this work with another author you have cited
- Explain how this research illuminates your research project
Prospectus Rubric
| Criteria | Needs Improvement | Developing | Good | Excellent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract & Research Question | Question is too broad to be feasible. | Identifies a significant research question, but needs more consideration to fit assignment learning goals. | Student identifies a focused and manageable research question that appropriately addresses relevant aspects of their topic. | Student identifies a creative and focused research question. Clear sense of the approach and larger historical significance. |
| ACS Variable Selection | No consideration of ACS variables. | Some consideration of how to use ACS variables, but you may need more revision to get at your question. | Appropriate consideration of ACS variables to respond to your research question. | Appropriate selection of variables to fulfill your research question. Good consideration of the limitations of census data. |
| Choice of Sources | Sources do not meet assignment criteria. | Some suitable sources, but additional research will be required to orient presentation. | Most sources are good and relevant, but may need some additional research. | Sources are high quality, meet specifications, and suitable for your topic. |
| Analysis of Sources | Insufficient detail in the annotations. | Clear summary of the sources, but needs more analysis to fulfill guidelines. | Identifies the main ideas of each source, explaining their findings and links to your project. | Thorough, sophisticated analysis of each sources’ argument, approach, and use of evidence, making explicit links to your project. |
Data Visualizations
100 points: Submit 2 ACS data visualizations + project memo as a single pdf file to Moodle before class on Friday, April 14.
Data Visualizations Specifications
You will create two different types of data visualizations based on your analysis of ACS data. Pick any two of the following categories: map, chart, table. NO PIE CHARTS.
Each data visualization must:
- Demonstrate your use of graphic design to emphasize your main data story.
- Demonstrate your strong research design in your choice of variables and statistical techniques to address your research question.
- Present an appropriate chart / visualization type for your argument
- Include a concise and descriptive title that explains your key finding
- Include appropriate use of key, axis, and data labels
- Be attractive and accessible through your thoughtful use of color, scale, balance, and font
- Be transparent (visualization design is not misleading in its use of scale, etc.)
- Include a data source citation including the size of your sample and the statistical significance of your findings (where appropriate).
Data Visualizations Project Memo
This memo should address the following questions in at least one well-developed paragraph each.
- Paragraph 1: What was your research question? How does your quantitative analysis provide evidence for this research?
- Paragraph 2: For data visualization #1, what ACS variables did you select? Why did you pick these? Are there any limitations imposed by the way the raw data is collected? What did you learn from this analysis?
- Paragraph 3: For data visualization #1, what kind of chart/table/map did you pick? Why did you pick this to communicate your findings?
- Paragraph 4: What take-away message did you most want to communicate in data visualization #1? How do your design choices show your attention to effective graphic design and data storytelling? (Be very specific.). How effective do you think your work is?
- Paragraph 5: For data visualization #2, what ACS variables did you select? Why did you pick these? Are there any limitations imposed by the way the raw data is collected? What did you learn from this analysis?
- Paragraph 6: For data visualization #2, what kind of chart/table/map did you pick? Why did you pick this to communicate your findings?
- Paragraph 7: What take-away message did you most want to communicate in data visualization #2? How do your design choices show your attention to effective graphic design and data storytelling? (Be very specific.) How effective do you think your work is?
- Paragraph 8: What feedback did you get from your peers and professor? How did you incorporate this to strengthen your visualizations? What specific changes did you make? What would you do differently if you had more time to work on this?
- Paragraph 9: Discuss the specific content you have learned through your data visualization digital project. For example, have you gone deeper in a topic and/or learned new material? Give particular tasks you performed or examples of things you did in this digital project and discuss how they helped in your learning of the material.
- Paragraph 10: Discuss the specific skills you have learned through your data visualization digital project. For example, have you further developed skills and/or learned new ones? Give particular tasks you performed or examples of things you did in this digital project and discuss how they helped in your development of old and/or new skills.
- Paragraph 11: Discuss how you think you will use the specific content and skills you developed through this digital project in the future. Give examples of courses, projects, or other areas where you think they could be of use.
Data Visualizations + Memo Rubric
Research Design: Does this project draw on your knowledge of U.S. Latino communities & their histories to develop a significant research question that can be answered using American Community Survey (ACS) data?
- Emphatically yes: you identify a creative, important, & focused quantitative research question about U.S. Latino communities.
- Yes: you identify a focused & manageable quantitative question that appropriately addresses relevant aspects of the topic.
- Somewhat: you identify a question that is manageable with ACS variables, but needs further thought to address relevant aspects of the topic.
- No, this project has significant issues with research design. This could include problems with the scope of the question, or selection of appropriate ACS variables.
Data Visualization #1: Does your first data visualization demonstrate your skillful application of quantitative historical analysis in your choice of ACS variables, analysis, & method of presenting your findings?
- Emphatically yes: your data visualization #1 & project memo show you have thought carefully about your choice of variables, statistical technique, & data visualization type to effectively communicate an insightful quantitative analysis about contemporary Latino communities.
- Yes: your data visualization #1 demonstrates a perceptive quantitative finding that illuminates your research question about Latino communities. This is reinforced by your project memo which clearly explain your research process & decisions about how to present your quantitative analysis into Latino communities.
- Somewhat: your data visualization #1 presents a clear quantitative finding about Latino communities, but would benefit from further work to better respond to your research topic. Your memo may show a disconnect between your research goals & your application of QL.
- No, your data visualization #1 employs quantitative analysis that doesn’t really fit your topic OR has errors in its application.
Data Visualization #2: Does your second data visualization demonstrate your skillful application of quantitative historical analysis in your choice of ACS variables, analysis, & method of presenting your findings?
- Emphatically yes: your data visualization #2 & project memo show you have thought carefully about your choice of variables, statistical technique, & data visualization type to effectively communicate an insightful quantitative analysis about contemporary Latino communities.
- Yes: your data visualization #2 demonstrates a perceptive quantitative finding that illuminates your research question about Latino communities. This is reinforced by your project memo which clearly explain your research process & decisions about how to present your quantitative analysis into Latino communities.
- Somewhat: your data visualization #2 presents a clear quantitative finding about Latino communities, but would benefit from further work to better respond to your research topic. Your memo may show a disconnect between your research goals & your application of QL.
- No, your data visualization #2 employs quantitative analysis that doesn’t really fit your topic OR has errors in its application.
Data Story: Do your two data visualizations demonstrate the application of QL design principles to communicate a persuasive central idea?
- Emphatically yes: your visualizations are visually appealing & show a creative use of design to convey your quantitative findings.
- Yes, your project shows clear attention to design & visual communication of quantitative information.
- Somewhat, but there are issues with your design that undermine the communication of your ideas.
- No, it is hard to identify the central conclusions of these data visualizations.
Clear Labels: Does your project employ necessary data labels to communicate your research?
- Emphatically yes: thoughtful employment of key, axis, & other data labels to communicate your quantitative findings.
- Yes, your labels are clear & easy to follow.
- No, you need additional labels to make your visualization clear to your audience.
Data Transparency: Is all relevant information about the origins & potential limitations of your data presented? Do your design choices accurately represent your data (scale, color)?
- Yes, your visualizations include full citations for our sources, incorporates any necessary notes about data interpretation, & does not use misleading design choices.
- Somewhat, your sources are listed but more information is necessary to orient your audience.
- No, your sources are not cited.
Process & Incorporation of Feedback: Does your project demonstrate your incorporation of peer feedback to strengthen your work, & an understanding of what might strengthen your QL communication?
- Yes, your memo incorporates reflective consideration of your design process, responses to peer feedback, & potential changes you’d incorporate with more time.
- Mostly, your memo demonstrates good consideration of key suggestions & how you incorporated them to strengthen your data visualizations.
- Somewhat, your memo presents a clear summary of peer feedback.
- No, you do not sufficiently address your first draft feedback & approach to revision.
Reflection on Skills Developed & Future Applications: Does the project memo synthesize the content & skills you’ve learned through this project, & how you’ll apply them outside of class?
- Yes, your memo includes a thoughtful analysis of the specific skills & content learned through this project, & how they might be applied beyond our class.
- Mostly, you share a clear & specific reflection on the skills & content learned through this project.
- Somewhat, you present some description of the skills you developed & the content your learned through this assignment.
- No, your memo pays cursory attention to content learned and/or skill development.
Professionalism & Attention to the Project Guidelines: Did you meet the project guidelines?
- Yes, your project includes all of the required elements.
- Mostly, you’ve completed most of the required elements with.
- No, you are missing a significant element of this project that detracts from achieving project learning goals.
Pecha Kucha Presentation
Effective oral communication requires a different approach than written communication. Pecha Kucha is a presentation style developed in Japan where you create a deck of visually engaging slides that automatically advance every 20 seconds as you give your talk. The careful preparation involved and the emphasis on the images in your slides means your presentations will be more engaging and informative for the entire class.
100 points, upload to our class pecha kucha stream by Sunday, April 16.
Example student projects for inspiration.
Approaching Pecha Kucha:
You are the classroom’s expert on this topic. However, you only have a short time for your presentation (15 slides over five minutes). Think carefully. What are the most important things to communicate to your classmates within the context of this course? How does your research engage the themes we have been discussing? I have given you a pecha kucha planning template as a starting point for thinking about how to organize your presentation.
Content Specifications
- For your presentation, your task is to familiarize our class with the argument, approach, and evidence presented in your research. Be clear and concise.
- Start your presentation with an overview of your topic, research question, the sources you’re analyzing, and your argument. (Basically, this is an oral version of your revised research abstract). This may seem repetitive, but I promise this will make it easier for your audience to follow your arguments when you analyze sources in the following slides.
- The bulk of your presentation will focus on teaching the class about your topic (you don’t have to follow this exact order, but make sure to show all of these skills).
- BRIEFLY, explain necessary historical context.
- Citing them by name, introduce one historian who you draw on to inform your research. Provide a concise summary of their main argument and use of evidence.
- Explain how your own interpretation engages with this secondary source. You can agree with a difference, disagree and explain why, or both agree and disagree: just make the reasons for your position clear.
- Explain your methodology (which ACS variables you picked and why, the quantitative analysis tools you employed).
- Analyze your first data visualization. What is the key data story you’re telling here? How does this evidence support your thesis?
- Analyze your second data visualization. What is the key data story you’re telling? How does this evidence support your thesis?
- Synthesis: taken together, what does this quantitative evidence show?
- Explain any limitations in your quantitative analysis. This is a focused project. Be honest about what the ACS data you looked at lets you consider, and what it doesn’t.
- Explain your use of qualitative evidence. Make sure you discuss the point-of-view represented in the source and how that shapes the account presented.
- Conclude by explaining what you see as the larger significance of your argument and its relationship to course discussions of institutional racism or how power and privilege shape individual’s lived experiences.
- What are your suggestions for future research?
- Practice to make sure you are confident about the timing and content.
Slideshow Specifications
- Your slideshow will be 15 slides long. Each slide will be on the screen for exactly 20 seconds (so, 5 minutes for your total presentation). You will also include a 16th + 17th slide – not counted in the specs below – where you can list your Works Cited + Image sources (with more than 5 words, obviously 😉!)
- Each slide must have:
- At least one image that helps communicate your ideas
- Each image can be used only once (although if it makes sense, you can zoom in on an image for another slide)
- No clip art or stock images.
- No more than five words per slide
- Exceptions: Title Slide & #16 & #17 Works Cited slides can have more than 5 words
- Make sure your images are large enough for classroom projection. The ideal size for projection is 1024 x 768.
- Watch the videos to learn how to record audio narration to accompany your 20 second slide transitions in PowerPoint. You can also work with a Student Technology Assistant for help!
- Your audio needs to be clear, with no distortion or background noise. You can use the Digital Project Studio to take advantage of our library’s sound booth.
Class Session: Q&A
- In class during weeks 13 & 14, we’ll devote 5 minutes to discuss each student presentation. You’ll give a 1-minute recap of your work, and then respond to questions from me and your peers.
- On the days you’re not presenting, you will watch your peers’ presentations before class, and post discussion questions to Moodle.
Pecha Kucha Rubric
| Criteria | Needs Improvement | Satisfactory | Good | Excellent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thesis Makes a strong, persuasive argument stated clearly in intro. | Clear introduction to your topic, but no argument. | You present interesting information, but the connections between your ideas and your central argument need development. | In the introduction you present a clear overview of your topic and its historical significance. | Your introduction presents a strong, persuasive argument about your topic and its larger historical significance. |
| Historical Context | Project does not incorporate enough relevant historical context OR incorporates too much less relevant detail. | Some presentation of the historical context but the links between the past and present could be clearer. | Explicit examples made the link between the research question and historical context clear. | Project draws on specific, insightful historical examples to place ACS research within a larger context Latino history. |
| Historiography | Little or no significant evaluation of significance or links to another scholar’s research. | Some analysis of how analysis fits into wider scholarly conversations. | Shows a good understanding of how their analysis fits into current debates surrounding topic. | Clear & focused analysis of a key secondary source highlighting the scholar’s argument, use of evidence, & how it relates to own interpretation. |
| Methodology: Explanation of historical question, ACS variables, quantitative analysis used + limits. | Discussion of research topic, methodology, & quantitative analysis needs development. | Straightforward summary of research topic, methodology, & quantitative analysis. | Clear overview of historical question, ACS variables, employment of quantitative analysis, and the limitations of project findings. | Nuanced analysis of historical question, employment of ACS variables, findings of the quantitative analysis, and the limitations of your evidence. |
| Data stories | Your presentation of this quantitative analysis needs further explanation to make your use of statistics clear. | Clear summary of the two quantitative findings. | Good explanation of the evidence presented in the two data visualizations, making their significance for the larger argument clear. Strong QL communication. | Clear yet sophisticated analysis of the central messages of the two data visualization, making their significance for the larger argument clear. Excellent demonstration of QL communication. |
| Qualitative Primary Source Analysis | Insufficient consideration of a qualitative primary source. | Provides a discussion of a qualitative source but could use more in-depth analysis. | Thoughtful contextualization of a qualitative primary source considering POV and significance. | Excellent analysis of qualitative primary source explaining its perspective & historical significance for research project. |
| Conclusion: | Summary of findings with few or no links drawn to wider course themes. | Clear summary of research findings. Links to class themes and suggestions for future research do not go beyond the surface. | Logical conclusion with clear links to larger course themes, good ideas for future research. | Insightful and engaging conclusion with clear links to larger course themes, thoughtful ideas for future research. |
| Visual Communication | Few links between visual evidence & argument. Sloppy visual design or images that do not meet project requirements. | Images are clearly related to the presentation content. Some design issues. | Student’s slides explain & reinforce the presentation. Good visual design. | Attractive & effective slide design. Good choice of images to reinforce the central argument & analysis. |
| Oral Communication | Poor organization or technological difficulties make it difficult for your audience to follow the sequence of information. NOTE: All presentations with audio quality issues are “needs work.” | Clear structure. Audience may have some difficulty following presentation because student jumps around and/or pace is rushed. Clear audio. | Good organization. A logical sequence makes the central points easy to comprehend. Clear audio, good pacing. | Well-designed presentation. Clearly structured talk, easy to follow. Polished delivery. |
Pecha Kucha Resources
Dr. Marcus Weaver-Hightower How to Design and Deliver a Pecha Kucha
Note: we’re only doing 15 slides of analysis (5 minutes) + #16 works cited + #17 Image Sources.