Chapter 2: Research Methods

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. The research process can be described by the following order of steps: ______.

a. asking questions; defining tests; forming hypotheses, examining the evidence, making conclusions

b. forming hypotheses, defining tests, asking questions, examining the evidence, making conclusions

c. asking questions; forming hypotheses; defining tests; examining the evidence; making conclusions

d. defining tests, asking questions, examining the evidence, forming hypotheses, making conclusions

Learning Objective: 2.1: Describe basic research concepts, including hypothesis, causality, and variables.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Questions and Answers

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. What is the purpose of composing concrete research questions?

a. to investigate or address the phenomenon you’re trying to study

b. to identify the variables or concepts that are analyzed to determine if a relationship exists

c. to determine if the question being asked has been researched already

d. to determine what kind of tests should be employed to determine if a relationship exists

Learning Objective: 2.1: Describe basic research concepts, including hypothesis, causality, and variables.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Framing Questions and Hypotheses

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. What is one of the purposes of hypotheses?

a. to investigate or address the phenomenon you’re trying to study

b. to identify the variables or concepts that are analyzed to determine if a relationship exists

c. to determine if the question being asked has been researched already

d. to determine what kind of tests should be employed to determine if a relationship exists

Learning Objective: 2.1: Describe basic research concepts, including hypothesis, causality, and variables.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Framing Questions and Hypotheses

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. What is the purpose of the literature review?

a. to investigate or address the phenomenon you’re trying to study

b. to identify the variables or concepts that are analyzed to determine if a relationship exists

c. to determine if the question being asked has been researched already

d. to determine what kind of tests should be employed to determine if a relationship

Learning Objective: 2.1: Describe basic research concepts, including hypothesis, causality, and variables.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Framing Questions and Hypotheses

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. “As party polarization increases, the rate at which Parliament passes acts and laws goes down.” This is an example of which stage of the research process?

a. asking questions

b. forming hypotheses

c. defining tests

d. making conclusions

Learning Objective: 2.1: Describe basic research concepts, including hypothesis, causality, and variables.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Framing Questions and Hypotheses

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Ideas or concepts that can vary over time are known as ______.

a. hypotheses

b. terms

c. variables

d. dynamics

Learning Objective: 2.1: Describe basic research concepts, including hypothesis, causality, and variables.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Variables and Concepts

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. Variables used to represent effects or outcomes are often referred to as ______.

a. independent variables

b. latent variables

c. explanatory variables

d. dependent variables

Learning Objective: 2.1: Describe basic research concepts, including hypothesis, causality, and variables.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Variables and Concepts

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. The process of precisely defining what we mean by something is called ______.

a. conceptualization

b. operationalization

c. generalization

d. categorization

Learning Objective: 2.1: Describe basic research concepts, including hypothesis, causality, and variables.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Variables and Concepts

Difficulty Level: Easy

9. Correlations are best described by which of the following?

a. the approach that focuses on deep in-depth case or event analyses

b. the approach used to describe of patterns or relationships between concepts or variables

c. a first glance at a relationship that may exist between two concepts or variables that occur simultaneously

d. a method used to narrow down the relationship between two or more variables

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe basic research methods, including correlation and regression analysis, case studies, and contextual analysis.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Quantitative Methods

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. The stage of the research process that is often most helpful to designing variables is ______.

a. asking the research question(s)

b. developing hypotheses

c. conducting a literature review

d. determining tests

Learning Objective: 2.1: Describe basic research concepts, including hypothesis, causality, and variables.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Variables and Concepts

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. Regression analysis are best described by which of the following?

a. the approach that focuses on deep in-depth case or event analyses

b. the approach used to describe of patterns or relationships between concepts or variables

c. a first glance at a relationship that may exist between two concepts or variables that occur simultaneously

d. a method used to narrow down the relationship between two or more variables

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe basic research methods, including correlation and regression analysis, case studies, and contextual analysis.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Quantitative Methods

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. Quantitative methods have pros and cons—which of the following expressions best encapsulates the importance of the quality of data that you collect and analyze?

a. “garbage in, garbage out”

b. “There are three types of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics.”

c. “The data will tell you anything if you torture them long enough.”

d. “Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable.”

Learning Objective: 2.4: Understand the strengths and weaknesses of both the quantitative and qualitative approaches.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Costs and Benefits of Using Quantitative Methods

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. ______ generally focus on deep description, case studies, or event analyses.

a. Qualitative methods

b. Quantitative methods

c. Comprehensive methods

d. Triangulated methods

Learning Objective: 2.2: Define quantitative methods and qualitative methods and the differences between them.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Qualitative Methods

Difficulty Level: Easy

14. Case studies are most useful in that they can ______.

a. often be generalized beyond the situation or event we are studying

b. be selected to optimise how well we can support or refute a hypothesis

c. still allow us draw some conclusions and learn from the exercise even if they don’t support a hypothesis

d. be effective at providing enough complete evidence to support a hypothesis

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe basic research methods, including correlation and regression analysis, case studies, and contextual analysis.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Case Studies

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. Which of the following approach analyzes the causes and consequences of events step-by-step?

a. content analysis

b. case studies

c. process tracing

d. comparative methods

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe basic research methods, including correlation and regression analysis, case studies, and contextual analysis.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Process Tracing

Difficulty Level: Easy

16. Which of the following best captures the difference between process tracing and historiography?

a. Political science searches for larger explanations of phenomena across time; history sees events as contextually and historically bound.

b. Political science sees events as contextually and historically bound; history sees events as contextually and historically bound.

c. Political science attempts to trace the links between possible causes and observed outcomes; history does not.

d. History attempts to trace the links between possible causes and observed outcomes; political science does not.

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe basic research methods, including correlation and regression analysis, case studies, and contextual analysis.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Process Tracing

Difficulty Level: Hard

17. Political scientist Charles Ragin is known for his work developing which of the following?

a. content analysis

b. case study

c. process tracing

d. comparative method

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe basic research methods, including correlation and regression analysis, case studies, and contextual analysis.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Comparative Method

Difficulty Level: Hard

18. Leaving out cases that do not fit your hypothesis is specifically known as ______.

a. design bias

b. measurement bias

c. selection bias

d. reporting bias

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe basic research methods, including correlation and regression analysis, case studies, and contextual analysis.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Comparative Method

Difficulty Level: Medium

19. One benefit of using qualitative over quantitative methods is that you can ______.

a. say that there is a relationship among variables or concepts that you are researching

b. understand the causal mechanisms that contribute to the concepts you are researching

c. provide larger explanations of phenomena over time

d. effectively single out specific relationships in which you are most interested

Learning Objective: 2.4: Understand the strengths and weaknesses of both the quantitative and qualitative approaches.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Costs and Benefits of Using Qualitative Methods

Difficulty Level: Hard

20. Which of the following do Mahoney and Goertz call the idea of examining a few key cases to work backwards, in order to try to understand what causes events to occur in the first place?

a. comparative method

b. causes of effects

c. process tracing

d. causal inference

Learning Objective: 2.2: Define quantitative methods and qualitative methods and the differences between them.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Political Science

Difficulty Level: Hard

21. Political scientists must address which of the following issues regarding the use of qualitative methods?

a. categorization

b. contextualization

c. generalization

d. operationalization

Learning Objective: 2.2: Define quantitative methods and qualitative methods and the differences between them.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Political Science

Difficulty Level: Medium

22. Which of the following do qualitative political scientists specify to tease out cause and effect?

a. necessary and sufficient conditions

b. likely and unlikely factors

c. process tracing

d. triangulation

Learning Objective: 2.2: Define quantitative methods and qualitative methods and the differences between them.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Political Science

Difficulty Level: Medium

23. Which of the following is a central tenet of the debate over methodology in political science?

a. Political science must be as rigorous and scientific as possible to be considered a true science.

b. Quantitative research is not as relevant or applicable outside of statistical programs.

c. Qualitative research does not stand up to scientific standards of examination.

d. How do we know what we know, and what evidence can we trust?

Learning Objective: 2.5: Delineate the importance of research methods in the study of political science.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: What’s the Big Deal?

Difficulty Level: Easy

24. Quantitative political scientists most often rely on and believe in which of the following when conducting their research?

a. analogical reasoning

b. deductive reasoning

c. inductive reasoning

d. abductive reasoning

Learning Objective: 2.2: Define quantitative methods and qualitative methods and the differences between them.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What’s the Big Deal?

Difficulty Level: Medium

25. Which of the following philosophers of science argued that instead of trying to rigorously study and prove an idea, we can never truly prove something to be correct.

a. Thomas Kuhn

b. Karl Popper

c. Rogers Smith

d. Edmund Gettier

Learning Objective: 2.5: Delineate the importance of research methods in the study of political science.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: How do We Know What We Know?

Difficulty Level: Hard

26. Which of the following philosophers of science argues that political science is all about inquiry undertaken to serve human interests and affect both studiers and the studied?

a. Thomas Kuhn

b. Karl Popper

c. Rogers Smith

d. Edmund Gettier

Learning Objective: 2.5: Delineate the importance of research methods in the study of political science.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: How do We Know What We Know?

Difficulty Level: Hard

27. Which of the following philosophers of science argued that a sign of maturity in a field is the acquisition of a paradigm, or a tradition of practice?

a. Thomas Kuhn

b. Karl Popper

c. Rogers Smith

d. Edmund Gettier

Learning Objective: 2.5: Delineate the importance of research methods in the study of political science.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: How do We Know What We Know?

Difficulty Level: Hard

28. To what does “Political Science’s Perestroika” refer?

a. the emergence of scholarly articles and books that attempted to bridge the divide between quantitative and qualitative methods

b. the revolution in political science that called out the lack of diversity in the upper echelons of the field

c. the movement that emerged in response to the systematic disenfranchisement of qualitative research in political science over time

d. the diatribe written by “Mr. Perestroika” about the overrepresentation of quantitative research in political science, among other things

Learning Objective: 2.5: Delineate the importance of research methods in the study of political science.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Political Science’s Perestroika

Difficulty Level: Hard

29. Which of the following works was one of the first to pragmatically attempt to bridge the divide between qualitative and quantitative methods in political science?

a. Designing Social Inquiry

b. Redesigning Social Inquiry

c. Unifying Political Methodology

d. Methods and Models

Learning Objective: 2.5: Delineate the importance of research methods in the study of political science.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Political Science’s Perestroika

Difficulty Level: Medium

30. Considering developments in methodology in political science in the 20th (and into the 21st) century, some find that ______.

a. qualitative methods have gained more support

b. quantitative methods are more likely to be favored

c. promotion in rank and tenure acquisition is dependent on the use of quantitative methods

d. promotion in rank and tenure acquisition is dependent on the use of qualitative methods

Learning Objective: 2.5: Delineate the importance of research methods in the study of political science.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Political Science’s Perestroika

Difficulty Level: Easy

31. Using multiple types of methods to confirm results or falsify hypotheses is known as ______.

a. specifying necessary and sufficient conditions

b. specifying likely vs not likely factors

c. using process and causal tracing

d. designing triangulating tests

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe basic research methods, including correlation and regression analysis, case studies, and contextual analysis..

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Let Your Question Be Your Guide

Difficulty Level: Easy

32. Which of the following approaches is the most effective in addressing research questions?

a. employ quantitative methods that are more apt to get at causal relationships between concepts

b. employ qualitative methods that provide context to build (and test) hypotheses

c. employ quantitative methodologies or qualitative methodologies if your hypotheses lend themselves to them

d. employ either qualitative or quantitative methods that are most prevalent in the field

Learning Objective: 2.1: Describe basic research concepts, including hypothesis, causality, and variables.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Let Your Question Be Your Guide

Difficulty Level: Hard

33. What does democratic peace theory suggest?

a. Democracies are less likely to go to war than non-democracies.

b. Democracies are less likely to go to war with each other.

c. Democracies are more likely to be peace-building than any other regime-type.

d. Democracies are more likely to avoid civil wars than non-democracies.

Learning Objective: 2.5: Delineate the importance of research methods in the study of political science.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Case Study: Democracies and Conflict

Difficulty Level: Medium

34. Which skillset is central to each stage of the research process?

a. critical thinking

b. method and test selection

c. how to ask questions

d. how to formulate hypotheses

Learning Objective: 2.5: Delineate the importance of research methods in the study of political science.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Case Study: Democracies and Conflict

Difficulty Level: Easy

35. In general, before which stage of the research process should you take some time to define and/or narrow your concepts of interest?

a. asking questions

b. literature review

c. forming hypotheses

d. defining tests

Learning Objective: 2.1: Describe basic research concepts, including hypothesis, causality, and variables.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Case Study: Democracies and Conflict

Difficulty Level: Medium

True/False

1. Research methodology is considered a separate subfield by many political scientists and university faculties

Learning Objective: 2.5: Delineate the importance of research methods in the study of political science.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. The two most critical stages of the research process are examining evidence and forming conclusions

Learning Objective: 2.1: Describe basic research concepts, including hypothesis, causality, and variables.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Questions and Answers

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Qualitative methods can refer to a whole suite of statistical tests and related methods to explore the relationships between concepts being studied.

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe basic research methods, including correlation and regression analysis, case studies, and contextual analysis.

Answer Location: Quantitative Methods

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. Quantitative methods generally require that we have enough information with enough variance to quantify

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe basic research methods, including correlation and regression analysis, case studies, and contextual analysis.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Quantitative Methods

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. Quantitative methods are especially useful in providing context and meaning to the data we collect and analyze.

Learning Objective: 2.4: Understand the strengths and weaknesses of both the quantitative and qualitative approaches.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Costs and Benefits of Using Quantitative Methods

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Qualitative content analysis is usually considered to be the basis of most qualitative methods

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe basic research methods, including correlation and regression analysis, case studies, and contextual analysis.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Case Studies

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. Process tracing methods in political science see events as contextually and historically bound.

Learning Objective: 2.4: Understand the strengths and weaknesses of both the quantitative and qualitative approaches.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Process Tracing

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. The application of both quantitative and qualitative methods requires judgment, practice, and knowledge to properly conduct research on a subject

Learning Objective: 2.4: Understand the strengths and weaknesses of both the quantitative and qualitative approaches.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Costs and Benefits of Using Qualitative Methods

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. In qualitative methods, outliers are very important and can change overall observations, analysis, and conclusions

Learning Objective: 2.4: Understand the strengths and weaknesses of both the quantitative and qualitative approaches.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Answer Location: Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Political Science

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. According to Kuhn, methodological directives are by themselves insufficient to generate conclusions

Learning Objective: 2.5: Delineate the importance of research methods in the study of political science.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: How do We Know What We Know?

Difficulty Level: Hard

Essay

1. What is the (generally) standard research process undertaken in political science? Describe each of the steps and the significance or value-added of each. How might this process look in practice?

Learning Objective: 2.1: Describe basic research concepts, including hypothesis, causality, and variables.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Questions and Answers

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. What are the pros and cons of the major approaches to investigating research questions and testing hypotheses in political science? Is one of these approaches superior to the other? In what situations are they most/least appropriate?

Learning Objective: 2.4: Understand the strengths and weaknesses of both the quantitative and qualitative approaches..

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Answer Location: Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Political Science

Difficulty Level: Hard

3. How would you characterize the debate on best practices in method selection in political science? What are the advantages of and/or concerns surrounding the approaches according to proponents and detractors? Make an argument as to where you stand on this debate using applied examples

Learning Objective: 2.5: Delineate the importance of research methods in the study of political science.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: What’s the Big Deal? | How do We Know What We Know? | Quantitative Methods | Qualitative Methods | Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Political Science

Difficulty Level: Hard

4. Discuss the development and history of the philosophy of science that guides modern political science. What are the implications for the field in terms of guiding principles and the consequences for the field?

Learning Objective: 2.5: Delineate the importance of research methods in the study of political science.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: How do We Know What We Know? | What’s the Big Deal?

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. How would you design a research project? Using your knowledge of the research process and different applications and approaches in political science, walk the reader through each step with a topic that interests you. Be sure to justify your choices along the way.

Learning Objective: 2.1: Describe basic research concepts, including hypothesis, causality, and variables. | 2.3: Describe basic research methods, including correlation and regression analysis, case studies, and contextual analysis.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Let Your Question Be Your Guide

Difficulty Level: Hard