AMSI Research Project

Overview of Research Option 2: The MTSU Poll

Conducted each semester since the fall of 1998, the MTSU Poll provides independent, non-partisan, scientifically valid public opinion data regarding major social, political and ethical issues affecting Tennesseans. All poll findings are released to the media and made publicly available both in summary and raw data formats. Results of the poll have attracted coverage by national media including The New York Times, National Public Radio, and USA Today as well as print and broadcast media throughout Tennessee. Poll results also have supported scholarly research by both students and faculty.

What's required:

This option requires you to work as a telephone interviewer during one four-hour session of the MTSU Poll. Using a university phone and computer in a lab in the Business/Aerospace Building on campus, you will be reading multiple-choice poll questions by telephone to randomly selected Tennessee adults who agree to be interviewed and using a computer to log their responses. Logging a response usually involves pressing a single key to indicate which response the interviewee selected, so neither typing skill nor computer proficiency are necessary. See the MTSU Poll website for an idea of the kinds of questions asked during the poll

Get started

Once you have reserved your seat for the poll, there's nothing more to do except show up for the calling session you chose.
All session work will take place in Room S302 of the Business / Aerospace building using university phones and computers.
Dress however you like, but bring a sweater or sweatshirt to put on in case the room gets cold.
The session will begin with a half-hour computer tutorial showing you how to use the computer-assisted telephone interviewing software that will help you conduct interviews. A field supervisor will be on hand to help and answer any questions.
You'll spend the rest of the session calling Tennessee phone numbers generated at random by the computer and interviewing qualified respondents who agree to participate in the poll.
The software you'll be using will guide you through what to say when people answer the phone. When someone agrees to an interview, the software will put one question at a time on your computer screen along with a list of possible responses. You'll read the question and indicate the person's response, usually with a single keystroke.
University ethics rules bar us from harassing people into taking the poll. We identify ourselves, explain that taking the poll is both voluntary and confidential, interview those who want to continue and permanently remove those who don't from our calling list.
During a typical calling session, you'll interview between three and five people. But there are no quotas to meet. All we ask is that you work consistently, taking short breaks as needed. Bathrooms and water fountains are just down the hall. Stepping out of the room for a quick snack is OK, but there's no time for a full-blown meal break, so please eat before you arrive.

Get your credit

Once you have worked your calling session, type the date and time of the session you worked into a Microsoft Word file, then upload the file to the "Project submission" drop box on your course's D2L website.
Once the final MTSU Poll calling session has ended, there will be no additional opportunities to earn research project credit.