POLITICAL SCIENCE 102 – MIDTERM
EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
GRADED A+ 2025/2026
An institution can be defined as any: - ANS organization or activity that is self-perpetuating
and valued for its own sake.
Politics is defined in the text as the: - ANS struggle in any group for the power to make
decisions for the larger group.
Which of the following is true of the work of most comparativists? - ANS When they expand
study outside of a single country, they tend to limit their focus to a single geographic region.
Which of the following best describes the current trend in comparative politics research? -
ANS There is hopeful talk of moving away from models that describe politics, but much
research in comparative politics remains descriptive and focused on a single country.
In which of the following ways does quantitative research differ from qualitative research? -
ANS It favors a wider use of cases not restricted by area specialization.
Which of the following could be considered a major challenge faced by political scientists in
their use of the comparative method? - ANS the difficulty in controlling variables
1 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
, A true comparative approach to politics only emerges with the work of: - ANS Machiavelli.
The shift in comparative politics away from political institutions (such as legislatures and
constitutions) and toward individual political behavior is known as the: - ANS behavioral
revolution
Which of the following is true of the concept of political institutions? - ANS U.S. democracy is
an institution in both the formal and informal sense.
In which of the following ways can multicausality affect comparative politics research? -
ANS It complicates the comparative method and makes it more difficult to develop concrete
explanations about real-world phenomena.
What is deductive reasoning? - ANS the means by which we go from a hypothesis to studying
evidence
Modernization theory can be defined as the view that: - ANS as societies develop, they will
become capitalist democracies.
To a comparativist, which would be of more value: discovery of a correlation or discovery of a
causal relationship? Why? - ANS causal relationship, because it describes a more concrete,
specific relationship between two variables
In which of the following ways did behavioralism differ from modernization theory? - ANS It
was more of a method than a general hypothesis.
In case study research, one problem that can emerge is the choosing of only cases that match
the expected results of the research question, or what is known as: - ANS selection bias.
2 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
GRADED A+ 2025/2026
An institution can be defined as any: - ANS organization or activity that is self-perpetuating
and valued for its own sake.
Politics is defined in the text as the: - ANS struggle in any group for the power to make
decisions for the larger group.
Which of the following is true of the work of most comparativists? - ANS When they expand
study outside of a single country, they tend to limit their focus to a single geographic region.
Which of the following best describes the current trend in comparative politics research? -
ANS There is hopeful talk of moving away from models that describe politics, but much
research in comparative politics remains descriptive and focused on a single country.
In which of the following ways does quantitative research differ from qualitative research? -
ANS It favors a wider use of cases not restricted by area specialization.
Which of the following could be considered a major challenge faced by political scientists in
their use of the comparative method? - ANS the difficulty in controlling variables
1 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
, A true comparative approach to politics only emerges with the work of: - ANS Machiavelli.
The shift in comparative politics away from political institutions (such as legislatures and
constitutions) and toward individual political behavior is known as the: - ANS behavioral
revolution
Which of the following is true of the concept of political institutions? - ANS U.S. democracy is
an institution in both the formal and informal sense.
In which of the following ways can multicausality affect comparative politics research? -
ANS It complicates the comparative method and makes it more difficult to develop concrete
explanations about real-world phenomena.
What is deductive reasoning? - ANS the means by which we go from a hypothesis to studying
evidence
Modernization theory can be defined as the view that: - ANS as societies develop, they will
become capitalist democracies.
To a comparativist, which would be of more value: discovery of a correlation or discovery of a
causal relationship? Why? - ANS causal relationship, because it describes a more concrete,
specific relationship between two variables
In which of the following ways did behavioralism differ from modernization theory? - ANS It
was more of a method than a general hypothesis.
In case study research, one problem that can emerge is the choosing of only cases that match
the expected results of the research question, or what is known as: - ANS selection bias.
2 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
