Exam 1: The Definition and Measurement of Concepts

A researcher develops a survey to measure political ideology on a 7-point scale from strong liberal to strong conservative. The result provides an accurate measure of the ideology of the individuals in the study. This is an example of ______.

An idea or mental construct that organizes, maps, and helps us understand phenomena in the real world and make choices is referred to as a ______.

A survey instrument intended to measure presidential approval ratings that produce drastically different numbers each time it is administered lacks reliability.

Conservatives tend to oppose same-sex marriage. Paul is a conservative. Therefore, Paul opposes same-sex marriage.

In a study of the presidency, presidential speeches are an example of a unit of analysis.

A measure that provides inconsistent readings of a concept probably suffers from______.

A concept is an idea or mental construct that represents phenomena in the real world.

When studying the passage of Civil Rights legislation by Congress each bill is an example of a(n) _____.

A data set that compiles information collected at different time intervals to study properties that vary over time is a times series data set.

Which of the following concepts is defined as the extent to which states exhibit the characteristic of having residents who support government spending for social programs?

The entity that researchers want to describe and analyze is known as a ______.

A recent public opinion poll found that 47 percent of respondents approve of the job the president is doing. Subsequent polls found approval ratings of 46 percent, 48 percent, and 49 percent. Based upon this we can say the questions in the poll are what kind of measurement of presidential job approval?

A research assistant is entering data into a data set on individual attitudes regarding social issues. He did not get enough sleep the night before and occasionally enters the wrong code for some individuals. This is an example of ______.

A researcher is studying political ideologies and includes a question about an individual's views on same-sex marriage as one of the ______.

A group of research subjects who modify their behavior in response to being studied will likely lead to ______ being present in the measurement.

An operational definition describes the instrument to be used in measuring a concept and putting the conceptual definition to work.

The structure of data sets varies substantially.

A researcher uses his judgment to determine whether support for welfare spending measures economic liberalism. This is an example of ______.

Economic liberalism and social liberalism comprise a single dimension of the concept liberalism.

A survey that measures exactly the characteristic it is designed to measure is considered to be valid.