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Statistically Speaking, That’s Funny!

Statistics can scare even the bravest PRCA 4330 student . . . so let’s look on the lighter side. Using your best search skills, find one or more funny cartoons (or YouTube videos) on the topic of statistics or math.

Here’s one of my favorites, from the PhD (Piled Higher & Deeper) comic strip:

fun with statistics

Reply with a comment to this post, giving a link to the cartoon or video — or if you’d prefer, a link to your own blog, where you’ve embedded the funny item. We’ll share the best ones in class on Wednesday afternoon.

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Branding Gone Bad :: #PepsiFail

pepsifail

UPDATE @ end of this post

Did you see that Pepsi Co. has released an iPhone app for its Amp energy drink? It’s called … wait for it … Amp Up Before You Score.  (I intentionally did not link to the app, as I don’t want to drive traffic its way.)

In theory, having an app (not this one) for your brand could be smart, maybe even cool. But when you see what the app does, you may change your mind.

InventorSpot describes the offensive app in this way:

Here’s how it works:

1. Identify Her Type: Got your eye on a girl, and aren’t sure how to get started? Pick out her profile, flip the card, and study up quick with a cheatsheet on the stuff she’s into, with lists, links and some surefire opening lines. (Surefire to what, we won’t say.)

2. Keep a List: Get lucky? Add her to your Brag List. You can include a name, date and whatever details you remember.

3. Brag: You got it? Flaunt it. Keep your buddies in the loop on email, Facebook or Twitter. Here’s who you get:

Artist Aspiring Actress Athlete Bookworm Businesswoman Celebrity Cougar Dancer Foreign Exchange Student Goth Girl Indie Rock Girl Married Military Girl Nerd Out-Of-Your-League Girl Political Girl Princess Punk Rock Girl Rebound Girl Sorority Girl Treehugger Trouble Twins Women’s Studies Major

If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, take a look at the app. And see what people are saying about “Amp Up Before You Score.” Make up your own mind about the app. But for me, I am disappointed in PepsiCo. I expected better from a company like this.

Put in Twitter terminology, it’s a major #PepsiFail.

[Hat tip to Liz Pullen for calling my attention to this iPhone app.]

UPDATE as of 3:00pm on October 12:

Just a few moments ago, the Twitter account for AMP (@AMPwhatsnext) posted an apology for the “Amp Up Before You Score” app. As far as 140-character apologies go, it’s a good one. I’ve already sent AMP my feedback.

AMP's Apology

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Um, Hot Enough for You Today?

Catsitter Ken and Catsitter Barbie by abbyladybug.Going to networking events, or even meeting someone for the first time, can feel awkward for even the most socially adept people. Getting the conversation started is often the most challenging part. Starting a conversation by referring to the weather was lame 20 years ago, and it’s still lame today (unless you’re meeting Lee Haywood, meteorologist for WSAV in Savannah, then it’s kinda okay).

Chris Brogan, in his September 29 Chris Brogan Behind the Scenes e-mail newsletter, shared five ideas for conversation starters.

  1. “So, what are you into when you’re not hanging out at social events like this?” I use a variation on this often. It lets the person talk about themselves without asking the dreaded, “What do you do?” (I loathe that question. My answer? “I type.”)
  2. “Do you ever wonder what Adam West is doing right now? Me neither.” A non sequitur accomplishes a few things. It sets a level of the other person’s sense of humor, their pop culture knowledge, and many other things. Just replace “Adam West” with whatever fringe character you want to use to identify what the person might share in common with you.
  3. “I’m always unsure what to say at events like this, so I thought I’d start with ‘hi.'” You can’t get much simpler than this. It lets the other person know you feel just a hair awkward, but it’s straightforward and direct, and lets them know you’re hoping to say a few things. Follow this up with, “I’d love to know more about what you’re into.”
  4. “You look like the kind of person who has a different opinion than the mainstream. What’s your take on this so far?” This sets yourself up for talking with the kinds of people who always offer the biggest value to your perspective.
  5. “What were you doing three years ago?” This one sets a person back a moment. They tend to either answer with a wistful smile or a guarded “who wants to know?” You learn something from this exchange, too.

If you find it challenging to start a conversation, perhaps one of Chris’ ideas will work for you. For me, I’d probably adapt #2 to say “Do you ever wonder what Ron Palillo is up to these days?” (Horshack was my favorite character on http://www.hulu.com/watch/20247/welcome-back-kotter-horshack-and-madame-x.)

Do you have other conversation starters that seem to work well for you at networking events? I’d love to hear them.

barbara_is_listening
(PS: Subscribe to Chris’ newsletter. I bet you’ll be glad you did.)

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PRCA 4330 Research Project Format

The Trap... by clicksense.Students in my PRCA 4330 class asked for more details on the format for their Public Relations Research Projects that they are completing for Georgia Southern University’s Center for Excellence in Teaching.

Cover Page

  • Client name & logo (if available)
  • Research team name (if you have one) and list of all members
  • Date

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

  • Written for client’s senior management team
  • No more than one page

Introduction

  • Research problem
  • Importance of the problem to the client
  • Purpose statement (use script from Creswell to write this)

Literature Review

  • Should accomplish two purposes
    • make an argument for the need to conduct this specific study (identify a gap, or a need in previous literature)
    • present the previous theories, concepts, etc. that this study uses and builds upon
  • Usually, each paragraph or small section of the literature review covers a body of literature. The best literature reviews are organized thematically; clearly identify and label these themes.
  • Typically, this section will be several pages long and will reference a dozen or more sources

Methods

  • Explain the research methods and procedures used for the research study, and your rationale for choosing said method(s)
  • Include your specific research question(s), not survey or interview questions, but the question(s) that your research attempted to answer

Results

  • Present your data, along with your (statistical or interpretive, etc.) analysis.

Limitations & Suggestions

  • What constraints were on your team?
  • What additional research is recommended based on your results?

Discussion

  • What do your results mean, in the context of the literature you reviewed?
  • Explain how the problem from the introduction is solved, how the research questions are answered, and whether the purpose of the study was accomplished.

Conclusion

  • Summary of the entire project (in a paragraph or two)

References

Appendixes

  • Number and content varies by project
  • All projects must include
    • High-level project plan (Gantt chart format works well for this)
    • PowerPoint slides used in presentation to client (printed six to a page)
    • Consent agreement
    • Your team contract
      • Provide a signed copy of your team’s contract (the contract you turned in during the week of October 5)
    • Agreement re: final version
      • Each team member will sign a page agreeing that the version you are submitting for a grade is your final version
  • Typically also includes
    • Complete survey, just as the participants saw it
    • Survey results, raw
    • Questions/scripts for focus groups or interviews
    • Verbatim transcripts of focus groups or interviews

NOT PART OF THE PAPER

Finally, each team member will individually submit in GeorgiaVIEW:

  • Team Member Evaluation Form (this will count as part of your team members’ grades) Coming Soon; not yet available
    • Will include
      • Client service
      • Meets deadlines, keeps promises
      • Quality writing
      • Creativity
      • Quality of presentation capabilities
      • Research capabilities
      • Participates in all activities
      • Takes initiative
      • Is accessible & responsive
  • Personal Reflection on Research Project (this will count as part of your own grade)
    • Roughly 500 words
    • Answer these questions
      • What did you learn from doing this project? (You can discuss what you learned about research in general, PR research, working with clients, working with teammates, what you learned about yourself through this process, what you might do differently next time . . .)
      • What surprised you?
      • What do you want to know more about?
    • This reflection is between you and me; your team members will not see it

NOTE 1: This information will be discussed in depth in class during the week of October 5. I will update this blog post after our discussion to add any necessary clarifications.

NOTE 2: Use APA Style for formatting your paper for citations, margins, headings, etc. The expectation is that you will use the most current version of APA Style (6th edition) unless you clear it with me beforehand. (Using 5th edition is fine, as long as you tell me ahead of time.)

NOTE 3: You will submit a PDF of your final project in GeorgiaVIEW (one per team), plus a professional-looking hard-copy for both your professor and your client. For your own portfolio, you may also want to print & bind your own hard-copy; it’s usually easiest if all the printed copies are created at once. The Eagle Print Shop on campus will have the best local prices for printing.

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Job Search: A Delightful Dozen Posts

Clouds with sun peeking out by you.It’s now the start of fall, even though it doesn’t really feel like it here in the Savannah area, and many college seniors’ minds are turning to “how will I get a job when I graduate.” Over the last year or so, I’ve written several blog posts on the job search. Here are a few that might be helpful. especially for public relations majors:

Are there other blog posts that have helped YOU in your job search? I’d appreciate it if you could share them as a comment here.

Thanks!

barbara_is_listening

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Writing Research Purpose Statements

One of the most useful books I purchased as part of my doctoral program at Capella University is Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (2nd Edition). Though I rely heavily on several of the chapters when embarking on a new research project, the one I come back to most often is Chapter 6: The Purpose Statement. Creswell shares “scripts” that can be adapted for qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods approaches.

Below is a PPT (created by Chris Anderson) that I discovered at DocStoc today.  You can view the slides here at my blog, or visit Chris’ page at DocStoc to download or print the presentation.


Chapter Six The Purpose Statement –