Essentials of Political Research
Alan D. Monroe
Language: English
Pages: 250
ISBN: 0813368669
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Unlikeable: The Problem with Hillary
Right for a Reason: Life, Liberty, and a Crapload of Common Sense
sentetlees in which some reference to crime appears, Alternatively, (me could count the number of times the word "crime" (m a synonym) aypears or xneasure the length of the sections deaIi13g with crime (in words, lines, or inches). Whatever method is used, the measureEnent should be standardized, that is, computed in comparison to the total number of sentences, words, lines, or inches, This is important because party platforms vary in length, generally increasing over the years. If these data
end of the chapter provides additional examples for you to test your understanding. Rulc~fi~r Using Levels of Mm:turement These three levels of measurement are relatively simple concepts, though which level applies in some actual cases may be debatabie, But the application is coi~pticatedby the fact that there are two BOX 6.1 Exampies of Level of Measurement Interval level; * Gross national product (in r~illionsof U S , d ~ l l a r s ) * Voter turnout (as percentage of voting age population) e
of this in Box 1.1. Althougfi the question of wlzetizer the president is doing a good job or not is a normative one, the question of whether the public thinks his performance is good is an empifical one, Such refor1nu1ations can be made with any set of individualsthe public, political scientists, or Left-handed civil servants, Although chm~girrgthe frame of reference may be quite useful ftrr svrne topics, such as presidential approval ratings, far others tlze results produced would be trivial.
49 36 121 9 196 225 100 15 2 3 300 300 400 56 42 24 132 27 308 225 166 N = 14 129 3,074 1,541 1,934 5. There is a scrong and significant positive relationship between a nation's per capita income and defense spending. The higher the inctlt~e,the more spent t ~ ndefense. ff these data were from a random srrxnple of nations, we could conclude that there is a positive reIatisnship between per capita income and defense spending aERong nations in general. F .= 4.00, so p > .05 (NOT
budget deficits greater in years of unified party control than in years of divided control? 3. Do students in scl-rool. districts that spend mare on public education have higher test scores after the average education and income of parents in those districts are taken into account? 4. Was the hequency of negative advertising greater in the 1990s than in the 198QsZ S. Would a new political party with an ideologically centrist pc-~sitionon most issues receive more than 20 percent of the votes? 1.