Quiz #2

Question 1

Level of measurement includes rank ordering but does not have equal quantitative intervals between values

Answer 1

Ordinal

Question 2

Level of measurement that best describes the Gini coefficient

Answer 2

Ratio

Question 3

The key argument made against including non-cash transfers in Gini coefficient calculations

Answer 3

Such as government-provided healthcare, education, or food assistance, do not represent actual income received by individuals. Critics argue that non-cash transfers are difficult to value consistency, and including them can distort the true picture of income inequality

Question 4

What has happened to the U.S. Human Development Index score in recent years

Answer 4

It has shown signs of a slight stagnation, or slight decline in recent years. It suggests that despite economic growth, there are challenges in maintaining consistent improvements in life expectancy, education, and income levels

Question 4

The U.S. Gini coefficient changes when including non-cash transfers and taxes, because

Answer 4

the distribution of resources appears more equal. This results in a lower Gini coefficient, reflecting a reduction in measured inequality compared to when only pre-tax, pre-transfer income is included.

Question 4

Why is focusing on absolute well-being different than focusing on economic inequality

Answer 4

Economic inequality targets fairness and social justice, while absolute well-being targets overall growth and quality of life.

Question 5

Level of measurement that involves only categorizing information without any quantitative values of order

Answer 5

Nominal

Question 6

Given a chart from Week6(2) or Week 6(3) activities, can you correctly identify the levels of measurements used

Answer 6

Classification: Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, and Ratio
Rank Order: Ordinal, Interval, and Ratio
Equal Interval: Interval and Ratio
Meaningful Zero: Ratio

Question 7

why do randomized control trials (RCTs) challenge our assumptions about what we think will help poor countries

Answer 7

(RCTs) challenge assumptions about what will help poor countries by providing evidence-based results that often reveal flaws or misconceptions in traditional aid strategies. RCTs isolate the effects of specific interventions by randomly assigning participants to treatment and control groups, offering a clear view of what actually works versus what is assumed to work.

Question 8

Critiques of RCTs in social science

Answer 8

Lack of double-blinding
Limited Generalization
Long term effects?
Unfair to control group

Question 9

In the paper airplane experiment, what role did the modification of the second airplane play

Answer 9

It was the independent variable, since it is the difference/change that is made to the dependent variable

Question 10

In the paper airplane experiment, what factor did we not control that possibly influenced the DV

Answer 10

The throw, it is hard to have someone throw it the same exact way both times

Question 11

what did the PlayPumps debacle in Africa reveal about foreign aid

Answer 11

The PlayPumps were meant to sound appealing and helpful, but it was the opposite. This reveals that foreign aid we spend money on can end up being a waste of time, energy, and money

Question 12

Why are surveys considered highly reliable

Answer 12

if the survey is conducted repeatedly, gives consistent results. Standardized questions, asked the same way

Question 13

which of the following groups can raise and spend an unlimited amount of money on a candidate (as long it
doesn’t coordinate directly with the campaign)

Answer 13

Super PAC (Super Political Action Committee)

Question 14

why did the Supreme Court rule in Citizens United vs. FEC (2010) that corporations and labor unions can spend an unlimited amount of money on campaigns

Answer 14

Since it is considered free speech

Question 15

“dark money” refers to what kind of political donations

Answer 15

refers to political donations made to nonprofit organizations that are not required to disclose their donors. This lack of transparency means that large sums of money can influence political campaigns and policy decisions without public knowledge of who is funding the efforts

Question 16

why is it difficult to study the effect of money on election outcomes

Answer 16

Correlation vs. Causation: High levels of campaign spending often correlate with success, but it’s difficult to determine if the money itself causes the win

Question 17

which of the following is a reason why surveys cannot establish causality but experiments can

Answer 17

Which comes first in time?
No control group, we can’t account for other possible factors that could be affecting the outcome

Question 18

What does it mean for a sample of survey respondents to be randomly selected

Answer 18

Every “unit” in the population must have an equal chance of being selected

Question 19

what happened as our Skittles sample sizes got bigger

Answer 19

As the sample size got bigger the results got more clear

Question 20

if a poll with a +/-3%margin of error shows that Donald Trump is leading Kamala Harris 51% to 49% in Pennsylvania, what is the true range of support for Donald Trump

Answer 20

The true range of support for Donald Trump would be between 48% and 54%
51% - 3% = 48%
51% + 3% = 54%

Question 21

How do pollsters address the issue of over-or under-representation of certain groups in surveys

Answer 21

They add weight to responses of certain groups. They artificially give it more weight and boost them in the calculation of the estimate

Question 22

why does estimating a “likely voter” introduce error into a survey

Answer 22

Over half of the sample taken will not vote, so how do you know who is a likely voter actually. “Likely to vote” is ultimately an educated guess.

Question 23

which of the following is a major determinant of presidential approval ratings measured on surveys

Answer 23

Economic Performance