Spring Break
Blue Hen Poll to release data in beginning of May
Alexandra Duszak
Issue date: 4/22/08 Section: News
On May 6, political science professor David Wilson's Problems in American Politics class will release the results of the Blue Hen Poll 2008.
The poll was designed by students in the class and executed via an online survey, Wilson said.
The university's Office of Institutional Research provided a random sample of 1,500 undergraduates to take the survey. Between March 13 and April 11, approximately 43 percent of the students responded. Wilson said this is approximatley three times the response rate of other on-campus surveys.
The Blue Hen Poll 2008 was conceived in the wake of the Princeton Review ranking the university fourth in its "Election, What Election?" category, he said. The Princeton Review ranked 366 colleges and universities throughout the United States based on its perception of the political awareness of the student bodies.
Wilson said the poll will attempt to verify or falsify that claim when the results are released.
Alex Goode, president of YouthVote, a political awareness Resident Student Organization at the university, stated in an e-mail message that he hopes the results of the poll will have an effect on the student body.
"If the poll reveals that the student body is apathetic, then hopefully it'll be a way to awaken them to become more active in politics," Goode said. "If there are positive results, then we have something to counter the Princeton Review."
In addition to asking questions related to politics and involvement, the poll questioned students' lifestyles such as their interest level in the classroom, religious affiliation and involvement and alcohol consumption over the past month, according to the questionnaire, in order to gather more detailed background information about its respondents.
The survey asked students questions ranging from how often they exercise, to why they chose to take the survey. It presented students with more relative questions involving what their political affiliation is and their level of involvement in the political process.
The poll was designed by students in the class and executed via an online survey, Wilson said.
The university's Office of Institutional Research provided a random sample of 1,500 undergraduates to take the survey. Between March 13 and April 11, approximately 43 percent of the students responded. Wilson said this is approximatley three times the response rate of other on-campus surveys.
The Blue Hen Poll 2008 was conceived in the wake of the Princeton Review ranking the university fourth in its "Election, What Election?" category, he said. The Princeton Review ranked 366 colleges and universities throughout the United States based on its perception of the political awareness of the student bodies.
Wilson said the poll will attempt to verify or falsify that claim when the results are released.
Alex Goode, president of YouthVote, a political awareness Resident Student Organization at the university, stated in an e-mail message that he hopes the results of the poll will have an effect on the student body.
"If the poll reveals that the student body is apathetic, then hopefully it'll be a way to awaken them to become more active in politics," Goode said. "If there are positive results, then we have something to counter the Princeton Review."
In addition to asking questions related to politics and involvement, the poll questioned students' lifestyles such as their interest level in the classroom, religious affiliation and involvement and alcohol consumption over the past month, according to the questionnaire, in order to gather more detailed background information about its respondents.
The survey asked students questions ranging from how often they exercise, to why they chose to take the survey. It presented students with more relative questions involving what their political affiliation is and their level of involvement in the political process.
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