Political inquiry

1) Which of the following is NOT an aspect of the empirical research process? a) Hypotheses b) Research Question c) Conducting surveys d) Theory

2) Which of the following best describes the term epistemology? a) The study of political science and the broader social sciences b) The theory of how knowledge is created c) The study of how theories are falsified in scientific research d) The theory of how research is replicated by other scholars

3) Which of the following is NOT a primary purpose of conducting a literature review? a) Finding the one correct explanation for a phenomenon from prior research b) Helping the researcher to figure out a research topic they may be interested in studying c) Identifying the normative aspects of the existing research on a topic d) Demonstrating a broad knowledge of existing research and how current project builds on this literature

4) Which of the following is an example of a research project that can be considered applied (rather than theoretical) research? a) A project examining the link between ethnic ties and alliances during the Cold War b) A project studying polling place closings and voter turnout in 2020 primary elections, with findings available prior to the November election c) A project examining the relationship between membership in regional trade organizations and voting patterns at the United Nations d) A project studying the connection between countries’ colonial history and development of democracy

5) Which of the following is an example of a normative statement? a) The presence of foreign occupying troops increases citizen dissatisfaction with the government b) Greater levels of education are associated with higher paying jobs and fulfilling careers c) The higher the level of misguided government spending on foreign military intervention, the more citizens should vote against incumbent politicians d) The greater the level of access to social welfare programs, the more likely students from low-income families are to attain a high school degree

6) Which of the following is NOT a primary element of empiricism? a) Falsifiability b) Epistemology c) Generalizability d) Parsimony

7) The greater the level of a country’s per capita income, the lower the likelihood of civil war occurring in that country. The preceding statement is an example of which of the following? a) A research question b) A theory c) A normative statement d) A hypothesis

8) What is a primary purpose of a research question in the empirical research process? a) It allows the researcher to avoid committing to a theoretical argument b) It defines the scope of a project in terms of the relationship between concepts c) It illustrates the evidence produced by the statistical analyses d) It provides the researcher with the most important existing literature on the topic

9) Why is the development of theory considered critically important to empirical research? a) Theory is the researcher’s novel contribution to their field of research b) Theory is where researchers can express their strongest opinions on what should be studied c) Theory allows the researcher to test the propositions offered in the hypotheses d) Theory is where researchers cover the existing literature in their field of research

10) Which of the following best describes the feasibility of experiments in political science? a) Experimental conditions are impossible to create out in any research context b) Experiments can be used, but only in the field of American Politics c) Experiments can and should be used for every empirical research project d) Experimental conditions are difficult to create, but are possible in some research contexts