Activity 3.6
Identifying Components in Hypotheses

For each of the following hypotheses identify the variables, units of analysis, and the nature of the relationship.

1. "The greater the inequality in the ownership of land in countries, the greater the civil strife."
2. "Women are more likely to oppose capital punishment than men."
3. "Local television news stories are more likely to be about crime than network news stories."
4. "The proportion of the vote a party receives determines the proportion of seats it receives in the legislature."
5. "Daughters tend to acquire their interest in politics from their mothers."
6. "The greater the number of highway patrol officers per capita in a state, the fewer the number of highway fatalities."
7. "Interest groups that spend the most on professional lobbyists receive the greatest financial rewards from government programs."
8. "The size of a government agency influences the decision-making authority of its director."
9. "Lawyers who attended highly rated law schools are less likely to run for elective office than those who attended less prestigious law schools."
10. "State judges who are elected, as opposed to appointed, to their positions assign harsher sentences to those who are convicted of crimes."