Research Methods in Political Science
Midterm Exam
Course Introduction
This course provides an in-depth exploration of the methodologies and techniques used in political science research. Students will learn the fundamentals of formulating research questions, designing qualitative and quantitative studies, collecting and analyzing data, and interpreting results within the context of political phenomena. Emphasis is placed on critical evaluation of political science literature, ethical considerations in research, and the application of various methodological approaches to real-world political issues. By the end of the course, students will be equipped with the essential skills to conduct independent research and contribute meaningfully to scholarly debates in the field of political science.
Recommended Textbook
Statistics A Tool for Social Research 8th Edition by Joseph F. Healey
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Chapter 1: Introduction
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Q1) A researcher has numbered all 50 states from 1 to 50 and has calculated a mean of 17.43 for the variable "state of birth."
A)Since the variable is nominal,the mean makes no sense.
B)Since the variable is ordinal,we should treat the value of the mean with great caution.
C)The variable is interval-ratio and the mean is an appropriate and useful statistic in this case.
D)Since this variable is discrete,the mean should not be computed.
Answer: A
Q2) Select the variable(s)that can be measured at the interval-ratio level
A)different types of crimes
B)number of children in a family
C)attractiveness of a person
D)emotional stability
Answer: B
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3
Chapter 2: Basic Descriptive Statistics: Percentages, Ratios
and Rates, Tables, Charts and Graphs
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Q1) If 60 cases range in score from 4 to 84 and you want 10 intervals in a frequency distribution,approximately what will be the width of each interval?
A)4
B)8
C)12
D)60
Answer: B
Q2) A police department reports that the number of reported rapes in their jurisdiction increased by 100% over the past decade.This means that the number of reported rapes today is
A)double the number 10 years ago.
B)actually about the same as 10 years ago.
C)equal to the number 10 years ago plus 50%.
D)triple the number 10 years ago.
Answer: A
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Chapter 3: Measures of Central Tendency
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Q1) The most appropriate measure of central tendency for the variable age (measured in years)would be the A)mode.
B)quartile.
C)mean.
D)decile.
Answer: C
Q2) For ordinal level variables,the most appropriate measure of central tendency is generally
A)the mode.
B)the median.
C)the mean.
D)none of the above
Answer: B
Q3) The symbol X<sub>10</sub> identifies A)the first decile.
B)the tenth score.
C)the mode.
D)any score which has a value one tenth of the mean. Answer: B
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Chapter 4: Measures of Dispersion
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is a correct description of the distribution of income in the US since the 1960s?
A)the mean income has risen but the median has fallen B)both the mean and the median have risen but the mean has increased more C)there is a noticeable negative skew in the distribution
D)the distribution has grown less variable
Q2) The distances between the scores and the mean are called A)deviations.
B)differences.
C)ranges.
D)summations.
Q3) The interquartile range would be an appropriate measure of dispersion for A)nominal level variables.
B)continuous interval-ratio level variables only.
C)ordinal level variables.
D)discrete interval-ratio level variables only.
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6
Chapter 5: The Normal Curve
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Sample Questions
Q1) Assuming a normal distribution of 1000 cases,how many cases will be farther away from the mean than +3 standard deviations?
A)at least 500
B)about 3
C)327
D)it's impossible to estimate
Q2) For the distribution of GPAs described in problem 1,what is the probability that a randomly selected student will have a GPA \(\begin{array}{|l|l|l|l|l|}
\hline & & Z \text { score } & & \text { Probability } \\
\hline \text { a. } & \text { less than } 3.40 ? & & & \\
\hline \text { b. } & \text { less than } 3.78 ? & & & \\
\hline \text { c. } & \text { more than } 3.50 ? & & & \\
\hline \text { d. } & \text { more than } 2.50 ? & & & \\
\hline \text { e. } & \text { between } 2.00 \text { and } 3.00 ? & & & \\
\hline \text { f. } & \text { between } 3.00 \text { and } 3.50 ? & & & \\
\hline\\ \end{array}\)
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Chapter 6: Introduction to Inferential Statistics: Sampling and
the Sampling Distribution
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Q1) According to the theorems presented in Chapter 6,we can be sure that the sampling distribution is normal if
A)the population is small.
B)the population is normal.
C)the sample is stratified.
D)the sample is normal.
Q2) When using systematic sampling,the researcher must
A)select only representative cases.
B)make sure that the list of the population is random or,at least,non-cyclical with respect to the variables of interest.
C)select every case.
D)select only respondents who are likely to cooperate.
Q3) Tables of random numbers,such as the one available at the website for this text,provide one way to assure
A)compliance with the rule of EPSEM.
B)cheap samples.
C)representative samples.
D)large samples.
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Chapter 7: Estimation Procedures
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Q1) Instruction: For each situation below,construct the 95% confidence interval estimate to the population.Assume that the results are based on a nationally representative sample.Express the estimate in a sentence.
Refer to the instruction.The average years of school completed for 734 respondents was 11.9 with a standard deviation of 0.5.
Q2) To increase the probability that a confidence interval will include the population parameter,
A)lower the alpha level.
B)raise the alpha level.
C)increase the bias of the sample statistiC.
D)set efficiency to zero.
Q3) In estimation procedures,the Z score that corresponds to an alpha of .05 is
A)\(\pm\)1.96.
B)\(\pm\)2.58.
C)\(\pm\)3.78.
D)\(\pm\)9.78.
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9
Chapter 8: Hypothesis Testing I: the One-Sample Case
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Q1) In a t test of differences between means,increasing sample size will affect A)degrees of freedom.
B)standard deviation of the sampling distribution. C)t score.
D)all of the above
Q2) If we reject a null hypothesis of "no difference" at the 0.05 level,
A)the odds are 20 to 1 in our favor that we have made a correct decision.
B)the null hypothesis is true.
C)the odds are 5 to 1 in our favor that we have made a correct decision.
D)the research hypothesis is true.
Q3) When testing for the significance of the difference between a sample mean and a population mean,degrees of freedom are equal to A)N - 1.
B)N + 1.
C)alpha.
D)1 - alpha.
Q4) Cite an example of a research situation in which a one-tailed test of significance would be appropriate.
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Chapter 9: Hypothesis Testing II: the Two-Sample Case
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Q1) When testing for the significance of the difference between two sample means,the null hypothesis can be stated as
A) \(\bar { X } _ { 1 } = \bar { X } _ { 2 }\)
B)m > 0.
C)m = m.
D)s = s.
Q2) If a difference between random samples is not statistically significant,it is probably ____.On the other hand,a statistically significant difference is not necessarily ____.
A)important,due to random chance
B)unimportant,large
C)important,unimportant
D)unimportant,important
Q3) When testing for the significance of the difference between two sample means,the null hypothesis is that
A)the sample standard deviations are different.
B)the sample means are different.
C)the populations from which the sample were drawn are different.
D)the populations from which the sample were drawn are the same.
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Chapter 10: Hypothesis Testing III: the Analysis of Variance
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Q1) A random sample of 15 families representing three social classes has been observed for the frequency with which the parents administer physical punishment to the children over a period of a week.Are the differences significant? Use the five step model as a guide and write a sentence or two of interpretation for your results.
\(\begin{array} { | l | l | l |}
\hline \text { Warking } & \text { Middele } & \text { upger } \\
\hline \text { Class } & \text { Clars } & \text { Class } \\
\hline & & \\
\hline 10 & 11 & 7 \\
\hline 9 & 10 & 5 \\
\hline 4 & 5 & 2 \\
\hline 2 & 2 & 0 \\
\hline 1 & 0 & 0 \\
\hline \end{array}\)
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Chapter 11: Hypothesis Testing Iv: Chi Square
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Sample Questions
Q1) A bivariate table in which both variables have three categories has
A)three cells.
B)six cells.
C)nine cells.
D)thirty-three cells.
Q2) A researcher reports a c<sup>2</sup> (obtained)of 75.34 (a =.05,df = 1,c<sup>2</sup> (critical)= 3.84,N = 13,678).The researcher claims that the relationship is extremely significant.What issue should be raised?
A)degrees of freedom are much too small for a sample this large
B)alpha is too low
C)sample size is very large and the actual relationship between the variables might be trivial
D)the value for c<sup>2</sup> (critical)is much too low
Q3) A problem with large samples in the chi square test is that the test statistic
A)increases at the same rate as sample size and trivial relationships may seem important.
B)decreases as sample size increases and may cause Type I errors.
C)fluctuates so much that the results are completely unreliable.
D)is always elevated above the neutral area.
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Page 13
Chapter 12: Bivariate Association: Introduction and Basic Concepts
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Q1) If the conditional distributions of Y do not change across the categories of X,any measure of association and the maximum difference would be
A)1.00.
B)0.00.
C)0.10.
D)100.
Q2) A researcher tested the relationship between education and support for assisted suicide ("death with dignity")and found that support increased as education increased and that the maximum difference was 45.This relationship is
A)strong negative.
B)weak positive.
C)strong positive.
D)significant but not important.
Q3) A maximum difference greater than 30 would usually be accompanied by a ____ measure of association.
A)weak
B)moderate
C)negative
D)strong
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Chapter 13: Association Between Variables Measured at the
Nominal Level
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Q1) Lambda is a PRE measure that is used when variables are measured at the A)nominal level.
B)ordinal level.
C)interval-ratio level.
D)any of the above
Q2) As measures of association,phi and Cramer's V are especially useful when A)an ANOVA test has already been conducted.
B)percentages have not been calculated.
C)cell frequencies are unknown.
D)Chi square has already been calculateD.
Q3) When using bivariate tables to investigate association,researchers should always ____ in addition to analyzing measures of association.
A)calculate chi square
B)calculate column percentages
C)conduct an ANOVA test
D)calculate means,standard deviations,and medians
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Chapter 14: Association Between Variables Measured at the
Ordinal Level
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Q1) For variables measured at the ordinal level,gamma measures
A)the statistical significance of the relationship.
B)the proportional reduction in error gained by predicting one variable while taking the other into account.
C)the relative importance of each variable to the association.
D)all of the above
Q2) In the formula for gamma,N<sub>s</sub> represents the number of pairs of cases
A)in all similar cells.
B)ranked the same on both variables.
C)in all cells.
D)that have the same score.
Q3) A study of the effects of fluoride in the water supply on level of calcium deficiency in women found a Spearman's rho of +0.30.Our PRE for this relationship is A)30%.
B)90%
C)3%.
D)9%.
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Chapter 15: Association Between Variables Measured at the
Interval-Ratio Level
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Q1) A researcher wants to measure the strength of the association between income (measured in dollars per year)and education (measured in number of years of formal schooling).Which of the following would be the most appropriate measure of association?
A)the slope (b)
B)gamma
C)chi square
D)Pearson's r
Q2) By convention,the dependent variable is arrayed along the ____ in a scattergram.
A)vertical axis (the ordinate)
B)regression line
C)horizontal axis (the abscissa)
D)calibration line
Q3) For summarizing the relationship between X and Y,the points of minimized variation for the conditional distributions of Y provide us with A)several regression lines to choose from.
B)the best fitting regression line.
C)a regression line that touches all of the dots.
D)regression lines with negative slopes.
Page 17
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Chapter 16: Elaborating Bivariate Tables
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Q1) An important limitation of the elaboration technique is sample size because A)too many cases destabilize the value of partial gammA.
B)statistical significance is reduced with large samples.
C)cases must be divided over a series of partial tables.
D)with many cases,not enough cells in the partial tables will be empty.
Q2) A possible solution for dealing with the problem of empty cells in the partial tables when using the elaboration technique is to
A)collapse the categories of all variables to the minimum possible.
B)avoid using a control variable.
C)use more than one control variable.
D)eliminate the dependent variable.
Q3) Which of the following describes an intervening relationship between X,Y,and Z?
A)X causes Z,which causes Y
B)X causes Z,but neither has a relationship with Y
C)Z causes both X and Y
D)Z causes neither X nor Y
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18
Chapter 17: Partial Correlation and Multiple Regression and Correlation
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Q1) A Pearson's r calculated for a bivariate relationship is .50.After controlling for Z,the partial correlation coefficient is .07.This outcome would be evidence of a(n)____ relationship between X and Y.
A)direct
B)spurious or intervening
C)interactive
D)positive
Q2) To investigate the combined effects of several independent variables on a single dependent variable,we use
A)partial correlation and regression.
B)bivariate correlation and regression.
C)multiple correlation and regression.
D)interactive correlation and regression.
Q3) The techniques of multiple correlation and regression can be used
A)as long as the total number of variables is not greater than three.
B)as long as the independents are strongly correlated with each other.
C)as long as each independent is linearly related with the dependent variable.
D)as long as sample size is less than 100.
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