Midterm Examination in Political Science 138: Data Analysis and Interpretation - Prof. Gar, Exams of Quantitative Techniques

Download Midterm Examination in Political Science 138: Data Analysis and Interpretation - Prof. Gar and more Exams Quantitative Techniques in PDF only on Docsity! 1 Midterm Examination Political Science 138 October 13, 2008 NAME ________________________ Answer all the questions. One of the questions is an example of a Simpson’s Paradox, be sure to indicate that in the answer to that question. 1. Figure 1 and table 1 are examples of poorly presented data. Explain what is wrong with them: 2. In table 2, SAT scores for all students were unchanged from 1982 to 2001. Explain what all the data in the table tell you and how it came about. 3. According to Paul Krugman, the data in table 3 reveals startling facts about American society. Explain the numbers. 4. Andrew Hacker cited the data in table 4 to conclude that White out-of-wedlock births are increasing at a faster rate than Black out-of-wedlock births. There is a problem with his analysis. Explain. 5. True or False. (circle one) According to the data in figure 2, the White poverty rate is more than twice as great as the Black poverty rate. Explain your answer referring to the percentages in the figure. 6. Figure 3 shows two different measures of the nation’s violent crime rate. One indicates that the rate has gone up, the other that it has gone down. Which one is right? Explain your answer. 7. Based on the two charts shown in figure 4, the Wall Street Journal argued that the United States has gotten nothing in return for the huge increase in education spending that occurred from 1990 to 2003. Explain what is wrong with the evidence or the conclusion. 8. The figure 5 indicates that there is an increasing gap between the two measures of voter turnout. Why is this? Which is the better measure? 9. In Figure 6, the Highlighted states (MN, WY, NH, WI, ID, and ME) are the only states that permitted Election Day voter registration. What conclusions can you draw from the data depicted in the figure? 10. The data in table 5 indicate a dramatic change in New York City’s murder rate over the years that Mayor Giuliani was in office. What factors other than the mayor’s policies might account for that?