Chapter 1: The Definition and Measurement of Concepts

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Democratization is an example of a(n) ______ in political research.

A. objective

B. concept

C. agenda

D. measurement

Learning Objective: 1-1: How to clarify the meaning of concepts.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. The primary goals of political research are to describe ______ and ______ the relationship between them.

A. ideas; understand

B. representation; identify

C. ideologies; explain

D. concepts; analyze

Learning Objective: 1-1: How to clarify the meaning of concepts.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. A(n) ______ describes clearly the concept’s measurable properties and specifies the units of analysis.

A. concrete statement

B. concrete question

C. conceptual definition

D. operational definition

Learning Objective: 1-1: How to clarify the meaning of concepts.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. An idea or mental construct that organizes, maps, and helps us understand phenomena in the real world and make choices is referred to as a ______.

A. unit of analysis

B. operation

C. definition

D. concept

Learning Objective: 1-1: How to clarify the meaning of concepts.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. A researcher is studying political ideologies and includes a question about an individual’s views on same-sex marriage as one of the ______.

A. concepts

B. characteristics

C. concrete statements

D. distinctives

Learning Objective: 1-1: How to clarify the meaning of concepts.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Clarifying a Concept

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Two or more distinct groups of empirical characteristics are known as a ______.

A. conceptual dimension

B. multidimensional concept

C. polyarchy

D. concrete dimension

Learning Objective: 1-2: How to identify multidimensional concepts.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Clarifying a Concept

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. The entity that researchers want to describe and analyze is known as a ______.

A. unit of analysis

B. multidimensional characteristic

C. concept

D. operational definition

Learning Objective: 1-1: How to clarify the meaning of concepts.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Why It’s Important to Identify the Unit of Analysis

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. Which of the following concepts is defined as the extent to which states exhibit the characteristic of having residents who support government spending for social programs?

A. economic liberalism

B. economic conservatism

C. social conservatism

D. social liberalism

Learning Objective: 1-1: How to clarify the meaning of concepts.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Why It’s Important to Identify the Unit of Analysis

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. A researcher is studying the attitudes of liberals and determines that one characteristic of liberals is support for abortion rights. Joe describes himself as a liberal, so the researcher concludes that Joe supports abortion rights. This is an example of ______.

A. systematic error

B. ecological fallacy

C. random error

D. reliability

Learning Objective: 1-1: How to clarify the meaning of concepts.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Why It’s Important to Identify the Unit of Analysis

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. ______ introduces consistent, chronic distortion into an empirical measurement.

A. Random error

B. Ecological error

C. Distribution error

D. Systematic error

Learning Objective: 1-4: How systematic error affects the measurement of a concept.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Measurement Error

Difficulty Level: Easy

11. A measure that provides inconsistent readings of a concept probably suffers from______.

A. systematic error

B. ecological error

C. random error

D. distribution error

Learning Objective: 1-5: How random error affects the measurement of a concept.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Measurement Error

Difficulty Level: Easy

12. A group of research subjects who modify their behavior in response to being studied will likely lead to ______ being present in the measurement.

A. systematic error

B. random error

C. ecological error

D. reliability

Learning Objective: 1-4: How systematic error affects the measurement of a concept.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Measurement Error

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. A research assistant is entering data into a data set on individual attitudes regarding social issues. He did not get enough sleep the night before and occasionally enters the wrong code for some individuals. This is an example of ______.

A. systematic error

B. random error

C. validity

D. reliability

Learning Objective: 1-5: How random error affects the measurement of a concept.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Measurement Error

Difficulty Level: Medium

14. One way to test the reliability of a measure is the ______ method.

A. concrete

B. random data

C. test–retest

D. conceptualization

Learning Objective: 1-6: How to recognize problems of reliability and validity.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Evaluating Reliability

Difficulty Level: Easy

15. A recent public opinion poll found that 47 percent of respondents approve of the job the president is doing. Subsequent polls found approval ratings of 46 percent, 48 percent, and 49 percent. Based upon this we can say the questions in the poll are what kind of measurement of presidential job approval?

A. valid

B. reliable

C. fair

D. random

Learning Objective: 1-6: How to recognize problems of reliability and validity.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Reliability and Validity

Difficulty Level: Medium

16. A measure that records the true value of an intended characteristic is said to be?

A. reliable

B. complete

C. complex

D. validity

Learning Objective: 1-6: How to recognize problems of reliability and validity.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Reliability and Validity

Difficulty Level: Easy

17. A researcher uses his judgment to determine whether support for welfare spending measures economic liberalism. This is an example of ______.

A. concept validity

B. construct validity

C. face validity

D. political validity

Learning Objective: 1-6: How to recognize problems of reliability and validity.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Evaluating Validity

Difficulty Level: Medium

18. A researcher develops a survey to measure political ideology on a 7-point scale from strong liberal to strong conservative. The result provides an accurate measure of the ideology of the individuals in the study. This is an example of ______.

A. construct validity

B. face validity

C. political validity

D. concept validity

Learning Objective: 1-6: How to recognize problems of reliability and validity.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Evaluating Validity

Difficulty Level: Medium

19. When studying the passage of Civil Rights legislation by Congress each bill is an example of a(n) _____.

A. aggregate unit of analysis

B. individual unit of analysis

C. complex unit of analysis

D. simple unit of analysis

Learning Objective: 1-1: How to clarify the meaning of concepts.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Why It’s Important to Identify the Unit of Analysis

Difficulty Level: Medium

20. A question that may be answered empirically using tangible properties is called a ______.

A. conceptual question

B. concrete question

C. complex question

D. concept

Learning Objective: 1-1: How to clarify the meaning of concepts.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

True/False

1. A concept is an idea or mental construct that represents phenomena in the real world.

Learning Objective: 1-1: How to clarify the meaning of concepts.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Liberalism is the extent to which individuals express support for increased government spending for social programs is an example of an operational definition.

Learning Objective: 1-1: How to clarify the meaning of concepts.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Conceptual Definitions

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Economic liberalism and social liberalism comprise a single dimension of the concept liberalism.

Learning Objective: 1-2: How to identify multidimensional concepts.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Clarifying a Concept

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. Every concept must have two essential properties, concreteness and variability.

Learning Objective: 1-1: How to clarify the meaning of concepts.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Clarifying a Concept

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. In a study of the presidency, presidential speeches are an example of a unit of analysis.

Learning Objective: 1-1: How to clarify the meaning of concepts.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Why It’s Important to Identify the Unit of Analysis

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Conservatives tend to oppose same-sex marriage. Paul is a conservative. Therefore, Paul opposes same-sex marriage.

Learning Objective: 1-1: How to clarify the meaning of concepts.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Why It’s Important to Identify the Unit of Analysis

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. A measure is said to be reliable when it accurately measures the concept being studied.

Learning Objective: 1-6: How to recognize problems of reliability and validity.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Reliability and Validity

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. An interviewer who records a respondent’s answer incorrectly has introduced random measurement error into the research.

Learning Objective: 1-5: How random error affects the measurement of a concept.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Random Measurement Error

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. An operational definition describes the instrument to be used in measuring a concept and putting the conceptual definition to work.

Learning Objective: 1-1: How to clarify the meaning of concepts.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. A data set that compiles information collected at different time intervals to study properties that vary over time is a times series data set.

Learning Objective: Not Applicable.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Working with Datasets, Codebooks, and Software

Difficulty Level: Easy

11. Data sets are always large and tend to contain large numbers.

Learning Objective: Not Applicable.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Working with Datasets, Codebooks, and Software

Difficulty Level: Easy

12. The structure of data sets varies substantially.

Learning Objective: Not Applicable.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Working with Datasets, Codebooks, and Software

Difficulty Level: Easy

13. A measure that “picks up” an unintended characteristic when studying human subjects is known as the Hawthorne effect.

Learning Objective: 1-4: How systematic error affects the measurement of a concept.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Systematic Measurement Error

Difficulty Level: Easy

14. A survey instrument intended to measure presidential approval ratings that produce drastically different numbers each time it is administered lacks reliability.

Learning Objective: 1-6: How to recognize problems of reliability and validity.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Reliability and Validity

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. A survey that measures exactly the characteristic it is designed to measure is considered to be valid.

Learning Objective: 1-6: How to recognize problems of reliability and validity.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Reliability and Validity

Difficulty Level: Easy