Deck 1: Politics and Knowledge

Question 1

Attempts to assess the accuracy of statements about the political world are known as

A) conventional wisdom.
B) political analysis.
C) public opinion polling.
D) political philosophy.
E) comparative politics.

Answer 1

political analysis.

Question 2

Politics may be defined as

A) the exercise of power.
B) the public allocation of things that are valued.
C) the resolution of conflict.
D) the determination of who gets what, when, and how.
E) All of the above

Answer 2

All of the above

Question 3

Which of the following is LEAST likely to be a source of normative political knowledge?

A) The United States Constitution
B) The Gallup Poll
C) The writings of Karl Marx
D) The platform of the German Green Party
E) The Koran

Answer 3

The Gallup Poll

Question 4

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of the scientific method?

A) A search for regularities
B) Empirical methods of measurement
C) Commonly held beliefs
D) Testable data
E) A cumulative knowledge base

Question 5

The first step in applying the scientific method is to

A) predict your conclusions.
B) gather appropriate data.
C) offer a tentative conclusion.
D) examine the existing evidence.
E) operationalize key concepts.

Question 6

In applying the scientific method, "reliable" evidence is

A) accurate.
B) relevant.
C) testable.
D) subtle.
E) All of the above

Question 7

According to Thomas Kuhn, all BUT WHICH of the following are necessary elements of a "real" science?

A) Values
B) Concepts
C) Theory
D) Rules of interpretation
E) A list of issues worth solving

Question 8

Knowledge about politics based on authority may include which of the following sources?

A) Tradition
B) Friends
C) Revered leaders
D) A constitution
E) All of the above

Question 9

Normative political knowledge includes which of the below?

A) descriptive knowledge.
B) your priorities among competing values.
C) explanatory knowledge.
D) None of the above.
E) All of the above.

Question 10

The notion that key political knowledge is self-evident is most associated with

A) the scientific method.
B) the method of rationality.
C) the method of intuition.
D) the method of experience.
E) the method of authority.

Question 11

In Aristotle's view,

A) intuition is the most powerful source of political truths.
B) a central goal of political analysis is to discover the "highest good attainable by action".
C) political analysis is based on self-evident truths.
D) political science cannot answer the important normative questions.
E) historical facts are more compelling than current facts.

Question 12

Which of the following is rarely a major obstacle to the application of the scientific method to politics?

A) Not enough data are available to serve as a basis for generalizations.
B) The evidence is so ambiguous that no clear conclusions can be reached.
C) The analyst cannot be objective because of the influence of his or her social reality.
D) Political reality is very complex.
E) It is impossible for others to evaluate the data and conclusions.

Question 13

According to Thomas Kuhn, a theory is

A) one scholar's idea about how politics works.
B) a set of systematically linked generalizations.
C) the set of concepts that guide inquiry.
D) the most widely shared view about how a particular political process works.
E) a set of unproven speculations.

Question 14

The actual countries characterized in the "Acid Test" in the Compare in 1 are

A) Iran and the United States.
B) China and India.
C) India and Iran.
D) China and the United States.
E) China and Iran.

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT one of the four major subfields of political science?

A) Political theory
B) International relations
C) Urban politics
D) Comparative politics
E) All are major subfields

Question 16

Which of the following is the subfield of political science that focuses on the ideas and debates concerning important political questions?

A) political theory
B) international relations
C) public administration
D) comparative politics
E) American politics

Question 17

An essay on the role of United Nations peacekeeping forces could emphasize what type of political knowledge?

A) Descriptive
B) Explanatory
C) Prescriptive
D) Any of the above
E) Only descriptive or explanatory

Question 18

A study that analyzes the historical ethnic animosity between Persian Iranians and Arab Iraqis primarily provids----------knowledge.

A) prescriptive
B) normative
C) explanatory
D) experiential
E) biased

Question 19

The main conclusion of the Focus in 1 on political knowledge is that

A) education is more important than age.
B) young women are generally more knowledgeable than young men.
C) older adults have more political knowledge than young adults.
D) there is no clear relationship between age and political knowledge.
E) political knowledge is clearly linked to the information sources that a person utilizes.

Question 20

Which of the following has NOT been a criticism of political science as a science?

A) Its subject matter is too complex and unpredictable.
B) It lacks the scientific elements present in the hard sciences.
C) It cannot address crucial normative questions about politics.
D) It lacks statistical methods for analyzing data.
E) Scientists cannot be objective.

Question 21

Detail the major points for and against the view that there can be a science of politics, providing examples for each view. Explain which view is most persuasive, and why.

Question 22

Discuss the contention that it is often impossible to distinguish normative statements from empirical observations about politics. Provide concrete examples whenever possible.

Question 23

The "acid test" in the Compare in 1 seems to illuminate several different types of political values. Characterize the key types of values in the analysis. Explain your own decision process in weighing the different values and selecting either Gamma or Delta. Explain what additional indicators you would include if you developed your own acid test between countries.