POS 3713 Study Guide Exam #Questions with
correct answers
Which of the following is NOT an accurate statement about hypotheses? - ✔✔For
each causal theory there can be only one hypothesis
If a researcher finds results in the direction expected by his or her hypothesis,
which of the following describes what has happened? - ✔✔Their theory has been
supported
Which of the following accurately describes the relationship between a theory
and a hypothesis? - ✔✔A single theory can lead to multiple hypotheses
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." Which
one of the "Rules of the Road to Scientific Knowledge" has been violated? -
✔✔Avoid normative statements.
Which of the following are time series measures? - ✔✔US Presidential approval in
each month from 1950-1999.
Which of the following are cross-sectional measures? - ✔✔(a) Individuals'
evaluations of Presidential performance from a survey taken October 22, 2007.
(b) Number of active military service members drawn from each German state in
1955.
(c) Average annual military spending in each nation of the world in 1967.
, (d) All of the above.************
Which of the following is NOT a sign that you have developed a good theory? -
✔✔You are sure that there is a correlation between your independent and
dependent variables but you are not sure whether this relationship is causal.
Which of the following statements is NOT true about the nature of studying
causality in the social world? - ✔✔A single exception to a general statement
means that the principle needs to be reconsidered.
What is a confounding variable? - ✔✔A variable that changes the relationship
between two other variables.
In which of the following theoretical statements is it NOT at all likely that reverse
causality would be problematic? - ✔✔A person's gender causes them to hold
particular attitudes about abortion.
Establishing that there is a credible causal mechanism that links X to Y involves
which of the following? - ✔✔It forces the researcher to consider exactly how and
why X might affect Y.
Why is it so critical for researchers to try to control for confounding variables? -
✔✔Because the failure to do so might lead to the wrong conclusion about the
real relationship between X and Y
What does it mean to say that a relationship between two variables is spurious? -
✔✔The relationship that seems to be true in a bivariate examination is not, in
fact, the true relationship
correct answers
Which of the following is NOT an accurate statement about hypotheses? - ✔✔For
each causal theory there can be only one hypothesis
If a researcher finds results in the direction expected by his or her hypothesis,
which of the following describes what has happened? - ✔✔Their theory has been
supported
Which of the following accurately describes the relationship between a theory
and a hypothesis? - ✔✔A single theory can lead to multiple hypotheses
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." Which
one of the "Rules of the Road to Scientific Knowledge" has been violated? -
✔✔Avoid normative statements.
Which of the following are time series measures? - ✔✔US Presidential approval in
each month from 1950-1999.
Which of the following are cross-sectional measures? - ✔✔(a) Individuals'
evaluations of Presidential performance from a survey taken October 22, 2007.
(b) Number of active military service members drawn from each German state in
1955.
(c) Average annual military spending in each nation of the world in 1967.
, (d) All of the above.************
Which of the following is NOT a sign that you have developed a good theory? -
✔✔You are sure that there is a correlation between your independent and
dependent variables but you are not sure whether this relationship is causal.
Which of the following statements is NOT true about the nature of studying
causality in the social world? - ✔✔A single exception to a general statement
means that the principle needs to be reconsidered.
What is a confounding variable? - ✔✔A variable that changes the relationship
between two other variables.
In which of the following theoretical statements is it NOT at all likely that reverse
causality would be problematic? - ✔✔A person's gender causes them to hold
particular attitudes about abortion.
Establishing that there is a credible causal mechanism that links X to Y involves
which of the following? - ✔✔It forces the researcher to consider exactly how and
why X might affect Y.
Why is it so critical for researchers to try to control for confounding variables? -
✔✔Because the failure to do so might lead to the wrong conclusion about the
real relationship between X and Y
What does it mean to say that a relationship between two variables is spurious? -
✔✔The relationship that seems to be true in a bivariate examination is not, in
fact, the true relationship
