POS 3713 EXAM 2 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Which of the following is true if a study used random sampling to select its participants?
- Answers -It means that every member of the population had an equal probability of
being selected to participate in the study.
Which of the following best captures the difference between experimental and
observational research designs? - Answers -Experimental designs control for
confounding variables through randomly assigning
participants to different treatment groups, while observational designs accomplish this
through statistical controls.
A competent researcher would be least likely to study which of the following using an
experimental research design? - Answers -The influence of personal ideology on
candidate evaluations.
What is the most significant benefit of randomly assigning participants to different
treatment groups? - Answers -It controls for other possible causes of the dependent
variable.
Which of the following is not a potential drawback of experimental research designs? -
Answers -Experiments sometimes have trouble sorting out whether X causes Y or Y
causes X.
In observational research, which of the following "causal hurdles" is most difficult to
cross? - Answers -Could Y cause X?
True or False: A measure must be both valid and reliable to be useful in hypothesis
testing. - Answers -true
Among the following imperfect measures, which one is nevertheless potentially useful
for purposes of hypothesis testing? - Answers -A measurement systematically biased in
one direction but still a reliable measure.
If a measure of a concept is correlated with a measure of another concept in a way that
a theory predicts, then the measure of the first concept is said to possess which of the
following characteristics? - Answers -Construct validity.
Which of the following is a potential weakness of the Polity IV measure of democracy? -
Answers -The concept includes both "contestation" and "participation," but the measure
includes
only indicators of "contestation," making it incomplete.
Which of the following accurately describes a categorical variable? - Answers -Different
values mean different things.
Which of the following is true if a study used random sampling to select its participants?
- Answers -It means that every member of the population had an equal probability of
being selected to participate in the study.
Which of the following best captures the difference between experimental and
observational research designs? - Answers -Experimental designs control for
confounding variables through randomly assigning
participants to different treatment groups, while observational designs accomplish this
through statistical controls.
A competent researcher would be least likely to study which of the following using an
experimental research design? - Answers -The influence of personal ideology on
candidate evaluations.
What is the most significant benefit of randomly assigning participants to different
treatment groups? - Answers -It controls for other possible causes of the dependent
variable.
Which of the following is not a potential drawback of experimental research designs? -
Answers -Experiments sometimes have trouble sorting out whether X causes Y or Y
causes X.
In observational research, which of the following "causal hurdles" is most difficult to
cross? - Answers -Could Y cause X?
True or False: A measure must be both valid and reliable to be useful in hypothesis
testing. - Answers -true
Among the following imperfect measures, which one is nevertheless potentially useful
for purposes of hypothesis testing? - Answers -A measurement systematically biased in
one direction but still a reliable measure.
If a measure of a concept is correlated with a measure of another concept in a way that
a theory predicts, then the measure of the first concept is said to possess which of the
following characteristics? - Answers -Construct validity.
Which of the following is a potential weakness of the Polity IV measure of democracy? -
Answers -The concept includes both "contestation" and "participation," but the measure
includes
only indicators of "contestation," making it incomplete.
Which of the following accurately describes a categorical variable? - Answers -Different
values mean different things.
