Research Methods in Political Science Practice Exam

These questions are part of the practice quiz. Start practicing

• Power analysis: which of the following is NOT a recommended way to improve statistical power in political science experiments?
• What is heteroskedasticity in regression analysis?
• Which statement identifies a pitfall of poor model specification?
• What is reflexivity in qualitative research, and why is it important?
• Which statement best describes replication in scientific research?
• What is a sampling bias, and how does nonresponse bias differ from selection bias?
• Which statement best describes the first hurdle in the research process?
• If pre-treatment trends diverge before treatment in a DiD design, what is the typical response?
• Why does autocorrelation matter for inference in regression models?
• Which statement best defines precision in measurement?
• Which statement best describes the third hurdle in the research process?
• What is a core assumption behind the difference-in-differences approach?
• What is nonresponse bias?
• What is the purpose of measures of position?
• Explain Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and how it differs from conventional variable-centered statistical analysis.
• What is a z-score?
• What does a z-score of -1.5 imply?
• In content analysis, what is intercoder reliability and how is it assessed?
• What is endogeneity?
• Why is probability sampling often preferred in political science?
• What is the ecological fallacy?
• What is autocorrelation?
• Which test is used to detect autocorrelation in residuals?
• What is a causal effect?
• Why is reproducibility important in political science research?
• Explain the difference between cross-sectional and panel data; what are the advantages of panel data?
• Validity in measurement refers to:
• Which practice is explicitly intended to ensure participants' privacy in field experiments?
• What does randomization in experiments help ensure?
• What is the fundamental problem of causal inference?
• Which statement best describes the relationship between nonlinear relationships and the correlation coefficient?
• Measurement error tends to produce what effect on estimated relationships?
• Which sampling method gives each unit in the population an equal chance of selection?
• What is the primary purpose of replication in political science research?
• What are the four levels of measurement?
• What is intercoder reliability in qualitative coding, and why is it important?
• Which of the following is NOT a common threat to internal validity?
• Contingency table
• Distinguish between structural estimation and reduced-form estimation in political economy.
• In a Difference-in-Differences design, how do researchers assess parallel trends?
• A pretest-posttest design is particularly vulnerable to which bias?
• What is a causal mechanism in political science?
• What is the primary goal of political science research?
• Which concept describes statistics that describe what value the observations tend toward, including mean, median, and mode?
• Which statement best captures the difference between internal and external validity in causal inference?
• Reliability in measurement is best described as:
• What is a coding frame in content analysis?
• Which statement best defines the interval level of measurement?
• Which aspect best captures the role of research design in causal inference?
• What is cluster sampling particularly practical for?
• Why are z-scores useful when comparing data from different distributions?
• In Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), what does it mean for a condition to be necessary for the outcome?
• In a regression discontinuity design, how are causal effects identified?
• What are hypotheses?
• What is a latent variable and how is it typically measured in political science research?
• Which statistic is commonly used to measure intercoder reliability in content analysis?
• What is the core idea of a difference-in-differences (DiD) design?
• What is a statistic in statistics?
• What is a key limitation of propensity score matching in observational studies?
• Five-number summary in boxplots
• What is a theory in political science?
• Which statement describes convergent validity?
• What is a key small-N advantage of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)?
• In hypothesis testing, what is a null hypothesis and an alternative hypothesis, and how are they used?
• Which statement best describes the sign of the correlation coefficient?
• Operationalization refers to translating abstract concepts into measurable indicators; essential to ensure the measure reflects the intended concept. Which option best represents this idea?
• Changing the units of measurement for the variables in a correlation analysis does what to the correlation coefficient?
• Which issue is not typically a threat to internal validity in experiments?
• Explain the difference between simple random sampling and stratified sampling and when stratification is advantageous.
• Which of the following is NOT typically considered an ethical consideration when conducting field experiments with political subjects?
• What is a common pitfall in interpreting ecological data for individual behavior?
• Which statement best describes the purpose of the correlation coefficient?
• Which statement is true about a statistic?
• Which statement about measures of dispersion is correct?
• In a randomized controlled trial, what is a key feature that helps ensure comparability between groups?
• What is a nominal level of measurement?
• What is operationalization?
• What is probability sampling?
• What test is used to determine if a time series has a unit root?
• Which statement correctly describes a major threat to external validity when experiments are conducted in artificial settings?
• What are common construct validity threats in qualitative research and how can they be mitigated?
• What is a sampling frame, and why can frame mismatch bias occur in political science surveys?
• Difference-in-differences designs identify causal effects by what comparison?
• What are robust standard errors, and when should you use them in political science regression analyses?
• How does thematic coding relate to theory development?
• Which statement best describes measures of dispersion?
• Which of the following is a measure of central tendency?
• Which statement correctly distinguishes external validity from generalizability?
• If two variables have deviations that tend to move in the same direction, what is true about their deviations?
• Describe the difference between an instrumental variable and a regressor of interest, and outline the requirements for a valid instrument.
• Which statement best describes the role of the literature review in political science research design?
• Which statement about external validity is correct?
• Why is stationarity important in time-series political science data?
• What is a unit root?
• How is correlation different from covariance?
• In the Rubin Causal Model, what do Y1 and Y0 represent, and what is the causal effect?
• Quasi-experimental designs are characterized by which of the following?
• Which statement about a binary variable is true?
• What makes a valid instrumental variable?
• Convergent validity and discriminant validity differ as follows?
• How does instrument validity differ from content validity?
• Which statement about monotonic nonlinear relationships and correlation is true?
• Explain the purpose and limitations of propensity score matching in observational studies.
• What is multicollinearity in regression analysis?
• What is the main purpose of triangulation in qualitative research?
• Construct validity refers to what in survey measurement?
• Which statement best defines the ratio level of measurement?
• Which of the following is a hallmark of heteroskedasticity?
• If you convert a variable from kilograms to pounds (a positive linear transformation), what happens to the correlation coefficient with another variable measured in kilograms or pounds?
• What is a percentile?
• Attrition can affect internal validity by?
• Which statement best distinguishes descriptive statistics from inferential statistics?
• Which statement best captures the difference between theory testing and theory building in political science?
• Which statement best describes a threat to construct validity in political measurement?
• What is the purpose of robustness checks in political science analysis?
• In a study of education policy, which variable would be the independent variable?
• Which statement about fixed effects and random effects models is correct?
• How can you address heteroskedasticity in regression analysis?
• What is the role of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) in political science research?
• What are common sources of endogeneity?
• Measurement error in political science research is best described as:
• What is the difference between a probit/logit model and ordinary least squares in terms of the dependent variable and interpretation?
• What is external validity?
• What is heteroskedasticity and why does it matter for OLS regression in political science research? How can you address it?
• What is the formula for calculating the mean?
• What is the fundamental problem of causal inference that prevents observing causal effect for any unit?
• Instrumental variables are used to obtain consistent estimates in the presence of endogeneity. What two key properties define a good instrument?
• Describe the difference between descriptive statistics and inferential statistics, with political science examples.
• What is the primary purpose of preregistration in political science research?
• Reliability in measurement is best described as:
• Boxplot visualization
• Which of the following is an example of qualitative data in political science?
• Which statement about ratio scales is true?
• In panel data analysis, which estimator is most appropriate when you suspect heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation across cross-sectional units?
• When might probit regression be preferred over logit regression?
• In the context of difference-in-differences, what is a placebo test?
• Define multicollinearity and its consequences for regression analysis; how can you detect and address it?
• Which measure is commonly used to quantify linear dependence between two variables?
• What is the primary purpose of a randomized controlled trial in political science?
• If the relationship is perfectly linear with r = 1, what does the scatterplot look like?
• In political science research, what best distinguishes a theory from a hypothesis?
• What are process-tracing methods, and what makes them credible in explaining causal mechanisms?
• What is statistical conclusion validity?
• Natural experiment
• What are external shocks in time-series analysis, and how can researchers account for them?
• Which statement about the correlation coefficient is true?
• Which option does not correspond to a standard form of validity in measurement?
• Which statement best characterizes the correlation coefficient?
• What does operationalization mean in research design?
• Which of the following statements about non-probability sampling is true?
• Why does model specification matter more in observational data than in randomized experiments?
• Which statement about regularization in regression analysis is true?
• In statistics, what does the symbol ∑ indicate?
• What is the difference between SATE and PATE?
• What is selection bias?
• Explain the difference between a fixed effects and random effects model in panel data; when would you choose each?
• Which of the following is an example of nominal data in political science?
• In a study using a control variable, which best describes a control variable?
• Which example best illustrates a binary variable?
• Describe ethical data sharing practices in political science, including anonymization and reproducibility considerations.
• Which concept refers to the degree to which causal assumptions are satisfied and effects can be interpreted as causal?
• What is endogeneity, and what are common strategies to address endogeneity in observational political science data?
• What distinguishes a cross-sectional dataset from a time-series cross-sectional (TSCS) dataset?
• Why is the correlation coefficient considered unitless?
• Which statements accurately describe qualitative versus quantitative research in political science?
• Power analysis is essential because it helps:
• In a regression discontinuity design, credible evidence arises when?
• Which statement best describes how replication across contexts contributes to generalizability?
• In a content analysis coding scheme, which practice helps resolve ambiguous items most systematically?
• Interquartile range (IQR)
• Which scenario best illustrates replication in a research project?
• What is sampling frame error, and which example illustrates it in political polling?
• In a study of education policy impact on student outcomes, which variable would be the dependent variable?
• Which statement about covariance is true?
• Which statement about nonlinear transformations and the correlation coefficient is true?
• Internal validity credibility
• Internal validity: which statement is true?
• What does r = 0.8 indicate?
• Which reliability measure is used to assess a scale's internal consistency?
• What is the significance of a correlation coefficient of 0.5095?
• What is the difference between random and systematic measurement error?
• Which validity type is assessed by whether the measure appears to measure the intended construct on the surface?
• Describe the concept of 'unit of analysis' and provide examples in political science research.
• What does the 50th percentile represent?
• External validity threat due to sample representativeness
• What is the difference between an independent variable (IV) and a dependent variable (DV)?
• Which statement describes a parameter?
• Which statement best defines a research design?
• Which design generally offers the highest internal validity but can be the most costly or difficult to implement?
• What is process tracing and how does it help in politics?
• What is the significance of the mode in categorical data?
• Which statement regarding the mean is true?
• What are the three hurdles in the research process?
• Which is a threat to external validity?
• Which statement about measurement error is true?
• What does conceptualization involve?
• What is content analysis in political science, and how do you ensure intercoder reliability?
• Extreme observations in covariance
• Which bias is commonly associated with pretest-posttest designs?
• What is the primary purpose of matching in observational studies?
• What is a confounding variable?
• What is the difference between a cohort study and a panel study in political science?
• Distinguish between reliability and validity with examples in survey measurement.
• What are common threats to external validity in randomized controlled trials in political science?
• Which tests detect heteroskedasticity?
• What is an ordinal level of measurement?
• Which statement best describes the second hurdle in the research process?
• Which statement correctly compares logistic regression and probit models for binary outcomes?
• Reliability concerns: which statement is true?
• Which statement defines a percentile?
• Which of the following describes precision?
• In a study where turnout is predicted by campaign exposure, which variable is the dependent variable?
• Which statement best describes nominal vs ordinal measurement levels?
• What is probabilistic weighting in survey data and why is it important?
• In randomized experiments, what is the role of randomization in internal validity?
• If two variables have a positive covariance, what does this suggest about their relationship?
• In panel data analysis, what is the purpose of including unit fixed effects?
• In the Rubin Causal Model, what does Y1 and Y0 represent?
• A time-series cross-sectional (TSCS) dataset combines multiple units over time and requires methods like fixed effects to address what issue?
• What is operationalization, and why is careful operationalization critical in political science research?
• What is internal validity?
• How would you evaluate the credibility of a political science study's findings?
• What is the logic of inference in political science, and why is model specification crucial?
• What is the fundamental problem of causal inference in observational data, and how do randomized experiments address it?
• What is the role of theory in research design, and how does it influence operationalization?
• Which statement best describes a confounding variable?
• What factors should be considered when assessing the generalizability of research findings to other contexts?
• Which statement best defines sampling error?
• Which term describes a numerical summary of a population?
• Which statement about linear transformations with positive scale factors on both variables is true?
• What is a research memo or research diary, and how does it help with transparency and reflexivity in qualitative research?
• What does thematic coding accomplish in qualitative analysis?
• What is covariance?
• Which test is commonly used to decide between fixed effects and random effects models in panel data?
• Which description correctly distinguishes qualitative from qualitative data in political science?
• If both variables are scaled by a positive factor, what happens to the correlation coefficient?
• What best defines content validity in survey design?
• Nonrandom attrition effect on internal validity
• Covariance with non-linear relationships