This survey asks a series of questions about the election simulation conducted in class. Please note that unless it specifically says otherwise, questions are about the simulation exercise as a whole, not just the Election Day software package. The survey is anonymous, and should not take more than about 5-10 minutes to complete. Thanks for taking the time to do it!

I. General info

1. Which team were you on? Democrats (McGrath)Republicans (Savage)

2. Your gender: Male Female

II. Workload

3. Approximately how many hours did you spend working on the simulation outside of class time?

4. On a scale of 1 - 5, how much time did you spend working on the simulation compared to other members of your team?  

1 - I did much less work 2    3     4    5 - I did much more work

5. On a scale of 1 - 5, how evenly do you think the work was distributed among the members of your team?

1 - very unevenly distributed2    3    4    5 - very evenly distributed

6. On a scale of 1 - 5, how much did having to submit weekly reports encourage you to participate?

1 - very little 2    3    4    5 - very much

7. On a scale of 1 - 5, how much did having an individual goal different from the rest of your team encourage you to participate?

1 - very little 2    3    4    5 - very much

III. Communication with the rest of your team

To communicate with the other members of your team, how much did you rely on:

8. ACME discussion groups

1 - very little 2    3    4    5 - very much

9. Email, instant messenger, phone

1 - very little 2    3    4    5 - very much

10. Face to face meetings

1 - very little 2    3    4    5 - very much

IV Learning Outcomes

How much do you think you learned from the simulation exercise about:

11. The US electoral system?

1 - very little 2    3    4    5 - very much

12. Election campaigns?

1 - very little 2    3    4    5 - very much

13. Working in large groups?

1 - very little 2    3    4    5 - very much

14. Working with computers and using unfamiliar software?

1 - very little 2    3    4    5 - very much

V Marking

15. The simulation exercise was worth 15% of your final grade. Do you think that amount was:

way too much (should be 5% or less)

too much (should be about 10%)

about right

too little (should be about 20%)

way too little (should be 25% or more)

16. Was the distribution of those 15 marks (6 for interim reports, 4 for final report, 3 for participation, 1 each for team and individual goals) reasonable? If not, what changes would you suggest?

17. Do you think the simulation mark that you received was:

much too lowtoo lowabout righttoo highmuch too high

VI Assessment of the simulation exercise

Overall, did you think the simulation exercise was…

18. A useful learning tool (on a scale of 1 - 5)?

1 - not at all or very little2    3    4    5 - very much

19. Enjoyable (on a scale of 1 - 5)?

1 - not at all or very little2    3    4    5 - very much

20. Realistic (on a scale of 1 - 5)?

1 - not at all or very little2    3    4    5 - very much

21. Would you recommend it be used in subsequent offerings of this course?

yes    no

22. Would you have preferred a longer election campaign (two months instead of one)?

yes, two months    no, one month

23. Do you have any suggestions for changes to how the simulation was run as a class exercise?

24. Do you have any suggestions for changes to the software (these will be forwarded to the designer)?