Exam 3: Proposing Explanations, Framing Hypotheses, and Making Comparisons

An explanation must be described in such a way that it can be tested with ______.

A valid hypothesis must be empirical and testable.

The variable that represents the effect in a causal explanation is called the ______ variable.

In a cross-tabulation, the categories of the independent variables are always placed ______.

Climate change related to human activity is a valid hypothesis.

Older individuals make more money than younger individuals is an acceptable explanation for an observed difference in income between older and younger workers.

When performing a cross-tabulation, the researcher should always calculate the percentages of the categories of the ______.

A relationship in which the value of the dependent variable changes consistently with a change in the value of the independent variable is referred to as a ______ relationship.

Ordinal-level independent variables have equal unit differences.

A researcher hypothesizes that age, party ID, and ideology are related to vote choice. What is the dependent variable?

A good explanation always describes a causal process.

Which of the following is an unacceptable explanation for attitudes regarding same-sex marriage?

When comparing two categorical variables, it is appropriate to use which of the following methods?

A researcher believes that voter turnout in a state is positively related to the educational achievement of its citizens. If true, the researcher should expect to find that ______.

Proposing explanations is an "anything goes" activity.

The law of diminishing returns is an example of a linear relationship between effort and return on the effort.

A researcher hypothesizes that the higher the level of education a citizen has will increase his or her propensity to vote. This is an example of a(n) ______ relationship.

A cross-tabulation is interpreted by comparing values across ______.

The second goal of political research is to propose and test explanations for political phenomena.

A linear relationship between two variables may be either positive or negative.