UNIT 1 1 Most causal relationships in Political Science are a Probabilistic b Remember probabilistic casual relations are cause X usually present when outcome Y occurs i Political science seeks to identify probabilistic casual relationships 2 The best definition of epistemology a The study of how we know things and why we know them 3 If our theory states that X generally but does not always cause Y we are dealing with what causation a Probabilistic b Think back to question 1 a Literacy rates 4 What is the independent variable in the following hypothesis Countries with higher literacy rates are less likely to have a military coup i Because the military coup depends on the literacy rates ii Remember the value of the dependent variable depends on the independent variable 5 Taking a single survey of many individuals at the same point of time is an example of what kind of i The time dimension is the same for all cases and the dependent variable is measured for multiple spatial units 6 True or False Logic is useful because it enables us to determine whether our assumptions prove study a Cross sectional our hypotheses a False i Logic alone cannot help us determine if our hypothesis are correct ii Things like experimentation and observation are a few other things needed 7 What is the null hypothesis for the following Voters with higher incomes are more likely to vote for Republicans than for Democrats a Income does not influence whether people vote for Republicans or Democrats b Remember the null hypothesis is a theory based statement about what we would expect to observe if our theory was incorrect 8 If we develop a theory by figuring out the empirical implications of a set of theoretical assumptions then we are using what method of theory building b Remember theory first then empirical testing 9 X and Y are only correlated because Z caused both to occur The relationship between X and Y is a Deduction described as a Spurious b Remember spurious z cid 224 x and z cid 224 y 10 Which of these would require the use of a time series model a Analyzing why the stock market goes up and down during a day of trading b Remember in a time series model a single unit is sampled over a single time period variation is over time 11 What is an example of a dependent variable measured as a time series a The average monthly level of U S Congressional approval from 1999 2009 12 What kind of causation exists when the relationship is always present meaning that the relationship is true in all cases without exception a Deterministic outcome Y occurs b Remember in deterministic casual relationships cause X is always present when 13 What would describe a spurious relationship between a person s class attendance and her decision to vote or not a True a False o When the weather is bad fewer people attend class and fewer turn out to vote 14 True or False Facts do not add up to theories i Theories are statements based on relationships between concepts meaning we have to look for evidence to test our theories 15 True or False We can observe causation but this does not necessarily imply correlation b Remember X causes Y implies correlation values of X and Y tend to move together but correlation does not imply causation 16 Which of the following is a time series measure a US Presidential approval in each month from 1950 1999 17 Using the number of political facts a person gets correct as a measure of political awareness is known as a Operationalization b Remember operationalization is basically when we go out in the real world and measure operationalize our variables 18 Which of these is an example of a directional hypothesis a Wealthier people are more likely to vote Republican b Remember directional hypothesis determine whether a parameter is positive or negative and not just different from zero 19 The following is an example of what kind of relationship As presidential approval decreases the president s ability to influence Congress tends to decrease a Positive b Remember in positive relationships higher values of the dependent variable coincide with lower values of the independent variable and vise versa in a negative relationship 20 What is true about valid theories a All valid theories have assumptions involving generalizations 21 As a way to develop knowledge one advantage of observation compared with other methods is 22 If a researcher finds results in the direction expected by his or her hypothesis then their theory has a Replication and verification been a Supported i You need harder evidence then just results that are in the direction of your hypothesis to say that your theory is confirmed 23 Because 46 of the people surveyed are registered Democrats the lobbyist planned her campaign accordingly This is a description of a Descriptive inference 24 A concept that has been operationalized has been a Measured think back to question 17 25 Which of the following is an example of the fallacy of affirming the consequent a Accepting a theory as true because the evidence supports the hypothesis 26 In the following hypothesis identify the dependent variable Candidates who have held prior office and have served in the military are more likely to win congressional elections a Winning congressional elections i The dependent variable depends on the independent variable 27 A non falsifiable statement is not a hypothesis because a There is no data one could produce to contradict it 28 Which is not an assumption of rational choice theory a Individuals can achieve the goals they desire b Remember rational choice theory is an extension of vigorous thinking where we start to think about politics in terms of dependent and independent variables and start developing theories about casual relationships between them 29 What are the two components of error a Systematic and random b Remember i Systematic error has a tendency to assign values that are too high or too low ii Random error has equal likelihood of assigning too high or too low values 30 When a Republican candidate spends more money this causes the Democratic candidate to spend more money As the Democratic candidate spends more the Republican responds by spending even more What is this an example of A dataset that records for each country in the world the amount of torture the government conducted in 2005 is a a Endogeneity b Cross section c Remember in cross sectional measure the time dimension is the same for all cases and the dependent variable is measured for multiple
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