Research Question

How can VoteSC increase civic engagement rates among undergraduate students at USC?

Role

Market Researcher & Survey Designer

Methodology

1

Survey

2

Focus Groups

4

Months

May 2023

Pitch deck comparing USC student civic engagement to other California colleges, identifying the problem, and providing strategic recommendations on how VoteSC can increase voter turnout on campus

Background

My Communications Research course tasked my group with researching and developing a PR campaign for any chosen organization.

Based on our secondary and primary research, we provided recommendations for outreach strategies aimed to increase civic engagement on campus.

About VoteSC

VoteSC is a student organization at University of Southern California dedicated to promoting political engagement on campus.

USC’s voter turnout rates remain lower than other California colleges. Further research on the state of student voting can help guide VoteSC’s engagement tactics for the 2024 U.S. Presidential Elections.

Research Goal

Assess USC students’ past and current levels of political knowledge and engagement.

Identify the factors that contribute to eligible USC students not voting, and then determine the most effective ways to motivate undergraduate civic engagement.

Timeline

Foundational Research

1.

  • Aligning research goals

  • Establishing recruitment criteria and timeline

  • Conduct secondary research

Research:
Stage I

2.

  • Design survey based on secondary research

  • Develop focus group interview guides

  • Send out survey

  • Participant recruitment

Research:
Stage II

3.

  • Conduct focus groups across 2 weeks

  • Promote survey towards USC students

4.

Pitching

  • Develop business strategies based on data

  • Pitch research insights and strategic recommendations

Recruitment Method

Convenience sampling leveraging team members’ personal networks.

The environment in which people use Spotify was also an important factor to us and we therefore relied on participants with physical proximity.

Recruitment Criteria

  • Vote-eligible U.S. citizens,

  • Enrolled at University of Southern California

We wanted to assess whether political ads were a potential educational opportunity. Additionally, we believed that age was an large factor to content preference.

Research Insights

Barriers to voting identified through our primary research included a lack of voting resources and limited campus polling locations.