POS 3713 EXAM 1 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Which of the following is not an accurate statement about hypotheses? - Answers -For
each casual theory, there can only be one hypothesis
Which of the following statements best describes the role of theories in science? -
Answers -A theory is a tentative statement about the cause of some phenomenon of
interest
Which of the following is an example of a negative relationship? - Answers -As military
spending goes up, welfare spending goes down.
Which of the following statements accurately describes theories?
Select all that apply: - Answers -NEITHER OF THESE
Theories are attempts to explain what causes what
Theories are attempts to explain variation in a dependent variable.
Identity which one of the "rules of the road to scientific knowledge" (kellstedt & whitten,
ch.1) has been violated: A researcher writing about the effects of campaign spending on
election outcomes writes the following phrase: "Like many other people, I have been
outraged at the amount of money spent on recent political campaigns" - Answers -
Avoid normative statements
Which of the following best summarizes the main goal of political science? - Answers -
The development of scientific knowledge about politics
Which of the following causal statements is most parsimonious and general? - Answers
-When the economy is faring poorly, incumbent politicians tend to do poorly in elections
In the following theory, what is the dependent variable:
"People get sick because they don't think COVID-19 is fake" - Answers -Belief in covid
Identify which one of the "Rules of the Road to Scientific Knowledge" (Kellstedt &
Whitten, Ch. 1) has been violated: researcher notices that when more firemen are sent
to the scene of a fire, there tends to be more damage from that fire. She, therefore,
theorizes that there is a positive causal relationship between the independent variable
number of firemen sent to fire and her dependent variable amount of fire damage -
Answers -None of the rules of the road to scientific knowledge have been violated
If a researcher finds results in the direction expected by his or her hypothesis, which of
the following best describes what has happened? - Answers -Their theory has been
supported.
True or false: The following is an example of the normative statement:
, "Voters should choose the candidate with the most experience rather than the one with
their favorite policy positions" - Answers -true
A good theory should be... - Answers -As simple as possible
In the following theory, what is the independent variable?
"A democratic country is more likely to go to war with another country if the other
country is an autocracy rather than a democracy" - Answers -Whether the country is an
autocracy or a democracy
Which is the null hypothesis for the following hypothesis?
"People who are frustrated about public policy are more likely than people who are
content with public policy to participate in acts of political violence." - Answers -People
who are frustrated about public policy are neither more nor less likely than people who
are content with public policy to participate in acts of political violence
What does it mean when we say that a variable has been "operationalized"? - Answers
-That the variable has been measured
Which of the following accurately describes hypothesis testing? - Answers -The act of
evaluating evidence to find cases that support one's theory
Which of the following accurately describes a variable? - Answers -A definable quantity
takes on two or more values
How did formal theory help us to understand whether or not an individual decides to
vote? - Answers -It helped focus our attention on the specific motivations for voting
According to Kellstedt and Whitten, which of the following is true about formal theory?
[Select all that apply] - Answers -all of the above
According to Kellstedt and Whitten, one of the main contributions of formal theory to our
understanding of elections is the following:
[Select all that apply] - Answers -neither a or b
According to Kellstedt and Whitten, which of the following would be an example of using
previous studies in a useful fashion?
[Select all that apply] - Answers -all of the above
Which of the following best describes the difference between a model of "utility" and a
model of "expected utility"? - Answers -Complete information vs incomplete information
Which of the following is an example of cross-sectional variation? - Answers -Some
people are more conservative than others
Which of the following is not an accurate statement about hypotheses? - Answers -For
each casual theory, there can only be one hypothesis
Which of the following statements best describes the role of theories in science? -
Answers -A theory is a tentative statement about the cause of some phenomenon of
interest
Which of the following is an example of a negative relationship? - Answers -As military
spending goes up, welfare spending goes down.
Which of the following statements accurately describes theories?
Select all that apply: - Answers -NEITHER OF THESE
Theories are attempts to explain what causes what
Theories are attempts to explain variation in a dependent variable.
Identity which one of the "rules of the road to scientific knowledge" (kellstedt & whitten,
ch.1) has been violated: A researcher writing about the effects of campaign spending on
election outcomes writes the following phrase: "Like many other people, I have been
outraged at the amount of money spent on recent political campaigns" - Answers -
Avoid normative statements
Which of the following best summarizes the main goal of political science? - Answers -
The development of scientific knowledge about politics
Which of the following causal statements is most parsimonious and general? - Answers
-When the economy is faring poorly, incumbent politicians tend to do poorly in elections
In the following theory, what is the dependent variable:
"People get sick because they don't think COVID-19 is fake" - Answers -Belief in covid
Identify which one of the "Rules of the Road to Scientific Knowledge" (Kellstedt &
Whitten, Ch. 1) has been violated: researcher notices that when more firemen are sent
to the scene of a fire, there tends to be more damage from that fire. She, therefore,
theorizes that there is a positive causal relationship between the independent variable
number of firemen sent to fire and her dependent variable amount of fire damage -
Answers -None of the rules of the road to scientific knowledge have been violated
If a researcher finds results in the direction expected by his or her hypothesis, which of
the following best describes what has happened? - Answers -Their theory has been
supported.
True or false: The following is an example of the normative statement:
, "Voters should choose the candidate with the most experience rather than the one with
their favorite policy positions" - Answers -true
A good theory should be... - Answers -As simple as possible
In the following theory, what is the independent variable?
"A democratic country is more likely to go to war with another country if the other
country is an autocracy rather than a democracy" - Answers -Whether the country is an
autocracy or a democracy
Which is the null hypothesis for the following hypothesis?
"People who are frustrated about public policy are more likely than people who are
content with public policy to participate in acts of political violence." - Answers -People
who are frustrated about public policy are neither more nor less likely than people who
are content with public policy to participate in acts of political violence
What does it mean when we say that a variable has been "operationalized"? - Answers
-That the variable has been measured
Which of the following accurately describes hypothesis testing? - Answers -The act of
evaluating evidence to find cases that support one's theory
Which of the following accurately describes a variable? - Answers -A definable quantity
takes on two or more values
How did formal theory help us to understand whether or not an individual decides to
vote? - Answers -It helped focus our attention on the specific motivations for voting
According to Kellstedt and Whitten, which of the following is true about formal theory?
[Select all that apply] - Answers -all of the above
According to Kellstedt and Whitten, one of the main contributions of formal theory to our
understanding of elections is the following:
[Select all that apply] - Answers -neither a or b
According to Kellstedt and Whitten, which of the following would be an example of using
previous studies in a useful fashion?
[Select all that apply] - Answers -all of the above
Which of the following best describes the difference between a model of "utility" and a
model of "expected utility"? - Answers -Complete information vs incomplete information
Which of the following is an example of cross-sectional variation? - Answers -Some
people are more conservative than others
