Story, Dale
POLS 3310
1/29/14

REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR TEST ONE
(Note:  All data are hypothetical)

I.             Define and identify each of the following.  Cite examples if possible.

II.
  Voter Participation     Voter Participation
Year (in %)   Year (in %)
1945 55   1975 73
1950 58   1980 75
1955 60   1985 72
1960 63   1990 68
1965 65   1995 66
1970 65   2000 61

   Graph the “relationship” (year is along the X-axis and voter participation is along the Y-axis).
Is/are there any “trends” across time in voter participation?
If so, what direction(s)?  Is it linear?  Curvilinear?

III.
Electoral District Level of Voter Participation (%) Level of Urbanization (%) Percent of Independent Voters
1 40 50 10
2 58 45 28
3 47 60 18
4 70 70 50
5 60 75 36
6 55 30 25
7 68 35 47
8 62 55 45
9 42 40 14
10 53 65 20

Hypothesis 1:  Voter participation is determined partly by the level of urbanization.
Identify the independent and dependent variables.
Graph the relationship.
Conclusion:
The hypothesis is confirmed.                              (If so, is the relation positive or negative)
The hypothesis is disconfirmed.                      
The hypothesis should be refined.                      (If so, briefly explain)

Hypothesis 2:       Voter participation is determined partly by the percent of “independent” voters.
Identify the independent and dependent variables.
Graph the relationship.
Conclusion:
The hypothesis is confirmed.                              (If so, is the relation positive or negative)
The hypothesis is disconfirmed.                      
The hypothesis should be refined.                      (If so, briefly explain)

IV.
Units of Analysis X Y
1 76 50
2 36 70
3 96 44
4 20 82
5 50 64
6 44 66
7 16 84
8 60 58
9 24 78
10 86 48

 X is the independent variable and Y is the dependent variable.
Graph the relationship very accurately.  From your graph, devise a prediction equation (estimate the y intercept and the slope, or “rise over run”).  Use your equation to produce predicted values of Y from the given values of X.  Finally, calculate the differences between predicted Y and the given values of Y (showing the negative and positive signs).

V.
Party A 38 398
Party B 162 352
  Minority Majority

The values in cells can be illustrated in four options:  absolute count, total %, row %, and column %.  The table above has the absolute counts.  Produce four additional tables:

 Which number demonstrates the strongest relationship between ethnicity and party vote?

  

VI.
Education and Presidential Vote (in percentages)

  Education
Presidential Vote Elementary Secondary College
Goldwater 17 23 43
Johnson 55 57 46
Missing Values 28 20 11
TOTAL 100 100

100

Ignore the “Missing values” category.  Recall that Johnson won the election handily.
Identify the dependent (Presidential Vote) and independent variables (Education).
What are the greatest differences shown in the table (Goldwater to Johnson in Elementary and Secondary--and Goldwater increase from Secondary to College)?
What basic hypotheses might the table be intended to test (impact of education on presidential vote)?
What is the conclusion to be drawn from this table (Democrats tend to draw more from lower levels of education; while Republicans tend to increase their vote as education increases)? 

VII. Explain, describe, give examples, and otherwise demonstrate that you understand the following aspects of experimental research designs:

 

VIII.       Devise and describe an experimental research design to evaluate the impact of introducing legalized gambling on government revenues in a Texas municipality.  Do not aim for a “perfect” design, but rather a “realistic” design.
Describe the extent to which you are assuring (or not—again, be realistic) the internal validity (extrinsic and instrinsic factors).