Deck 4: Policy Analysis

Question 1

Being committed to specific policy values and goals as well as ideological and partisan agendas is known as the ______ approach to policy analysis.

A) professional
B) political
C) scientific
D) elite

Answer 1

B

Question 2

A systematic investigation of alternative policy options and the assembly and integration of the evidence for and against each option is referred to as ______.

A) policy formulation
B) policy legitimation
C) policy analysis
D) policy capacity

Answer 2

C

Question 3

______ refers to collecting and interpreting information that clarifies the causes and effects of public problems.

A) Policymaking process
B) Incremental decision making
C) Root cause analysis
D) Policy analysis

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Researchers and academics conduct research to seek "truth." This approach to policy analysis is ______.

A) professional
B) political
C) scientific
D) none of these

Question 5

A growing sector of private organizations that conduct policy research often used by government policy makers is called ______.

A) political action committees
B) state policy institutes
C) political parties
D) think tanks

Question 6

______ refer(s) to the important factors that policy analysts will use to assess the proposed policy alternatives.

A) Alternative assessment
B) Evaluative criteria
C) Ex post facto criteria
D) Redistributive factors

Question 7

Policy analysis draws from the ideas and methods of which of the following disciplines?

A) economics
B) sociology
C) political science
D) all of these

Question 8

Which best describes the approaches being taken by states to address the problem of cell phone use by drivers?

A) Most states have banned text messaging by drivers, but states have done a variety of things with regard to cell phone use while driving.
B) Most states have not dealt with the issue of texting and cell phone use.
C) All 50 states have banned cell phone use by novice drivers.
D) Only a handful of states have attempted to create policies to address this problem.

Question 9

______ involves defining the problem, indicating goals and objectives to be sought, considering a range of alternatives, and evaluating each alternative before recommending a particular solution.

A) Rational decision making
B) Incremental decision making
C) Policy evaluation
D) Political analysis

Question 10

Think tanks study problems and alternatives in order to help policy makers make decisions. The type of policy analysis typically conducted by think tanks is called ______.

A) scientific
B) professional
C) political
D) economic

Question 11

Making modest changes in policy is known as what?

A) incremental decision making
B) rational-comprehensive policymaking
C) constructing policy alternatives
D) root cause policymaking

Question 12

______ are defined as the immediate causes of a given social problem.

A) Limited causes
B) Acknowledged causes
C) Proximate causes
D) Root causes

Question 13

Policy alternatives relating to the use of cell phones while driving are discussed in the first part of Chapter 4. Several agencies of the federal government have recommended which of the following policy actions?

A) a national ban on texting while driving
B) pressing state governments to develop and implement policies
C) organizing local governments to improve enforcement of local bans on texting while driving
D) Nothing has been proposed; that's why it continues to be a problem.

Question 14

Analyzing problems, studying possible policy alternatives, and evaluating the efficiency or effectiveness of policies are examples of what?

A) incremental decision making
B) policy analysis
C) assessing alternatives
D) rational decision making

Question 15

______ is considered to be the more realistic approach.

A) Rational decision making
B) Comprehensive decision making
C) Feasible decision making
D) Incremental decision making

Question 16

Policy analysis that puts a priority on citizen involvement and alignment with public opinion emphasizes ______.

A) democratic political processes
B) rational comprehensive decision making
C) scientific analysis
D) pragmatic adjustments

Question 17

One of the basic questions that all analysis must answer is whether they should focus on the ______ of public problems or examine policy actions that might ameliorate a pressing problem, but do nothing about its underlying causes.

A) root causes
B) proximate causes
C) incremental causes
D) factorial causes

Question 18

Policy analysts who propose policies that align with mainstream public values are taking an approach to policy formulation known as ______.

A) contentious analysis
B) adhering to consensual norms
C) proximate cause analysis
D) adhering to professional practice standards

Question 19

The ______ approach to policy analysis defines a problem, indicates the goals and objectives to be sought, considers a range of alternative solutions, evaluates each of the alternatives to clarify their consequences, and then recommends or chooses the alternative with the greatest potential for solving the problem.

A) political
B) generative
C) elite
D) rational-comprehensive

Question 20

Which of the following conduct different kinds of policy analysis that is often very helpful to the policymaking process?

A) government agencies
B) interest groups
C) think tanks
D) all of these

Question 21

What is the purpose of scientific approaches to policy analysis?

Question 22

The Clean Air Act Amendments took place in ______.

A) 1980
B) 1990
C) 2000
D) 2010

Question 23

Why is the construction of policy alternatives considered to be the most important stage of the policy analysis process?

Question 24

Which of the following was identified as the most important step in the policymaking process?

A) constructing policy alternatives
B) policy evaluation
C) policy change
D) setting the agenda

Question 25

This text focuses on ______ or the likely success of proposals in solving the problem at hand.

A) equity
B) feasibility
C) effectiveness
D) efficiency

Question 26

Which of the following is an example of data that could be collected to study the root causes of poverty?

A) the number of students who drop out of high school
B) the number of people in poverty
C) the unemployment rate
D) the median family income

Question 27

In order to choose which policy options (such as sanctions or public education) are better than others to reduce cell phone use, policy analysts might use the criterion of efficiency. What question would they ask related to efficiency?

A) Which of these options will be the most acceptable to the driving public?
B) Which of these options are projected to reduce cell phone use the most?
C) Which of these options will least restrict people's freedom and choice?
D) For what we invest, which of these options are likely to do the best job of reducing cell phone use?

Question 28

In which year did the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) call for a total ban on cell phone use while driving (no calling, texting, or updating)?

A) 2000
B) 2011
C) 2013
D) 2016

Question 29

Which of the following statements best illustrates the rational-comprehensive approach to decision making?

A) The government collected data about illegal immigrants (geographic location, type of employment, and how they got here) and then developed a comprehensive new policy tailored to their findings.
B) The economic crisis arose quickly, and the government implemented a bailout of automakers in order to prevent the loss of jobs.
C) Because a lot of children did not have health insurance, the government passed an expansion of the Medicaid program to cover more children.
D) After 9/11 terrorist attacks, the United States soon conducted military operations in Afghanistan to reduce the threat of terrorism.

Question 30

Which of the following best defines the rational-comprehensive approach to policymaking?

A) rigorous analysis of the problem and the likely impacts of proposed policies
B) strong efforts to include public opinion in the policymaking process
C) extensive use of cutting-edge policy approaches that may lead to conflict and disagreement
D) relatively minor changes to policy that are accomplished over time in a thoughtful manner

Question 31

The purpose of policy analysis is to ______.

A) provide information and impartial assessments of options to aid the policymaking process
B) evaluate existing policy criteria
C) legitimize and implement public policies
D) provide rational-comprehensive models of public behavior

Question 32

The Center for American Progress and the Heritage Foundation often use ______ to promote a preferred policy.

A) scientific policy analysis
B) professional policy analysis
C) political policy analysis
D) program evaluation

Question 33

Which of the following is most likely to conduct political forms of policy analysis?

A) National Rifle Association
B) Brookings Institution
C) Massachusetts Institute of Technology
D) National Academy of Sciences

Question 34

Explain the professional approach to policy analysis.

Question 35

In the 1980s, the federal government sponsored a decade long study of the causes and consequences of acid rain at a cost of ______ million.

A) 100
B) 300
C) 500
D) 700

Question 36

What are some examples of evaluative criteria that can be used in policy analysis?

Question 37

By 2018, ______ states had banned texting for all drivers.

A) 25
B) 37
C) 47
D) 50

Question 38

Explain the political approach to policy analysis.

Question 39

To reduce drivers' cell phone use, should state governments institute sanctions such as tickets or fines? Or should they try to educate drivers on cell phone use? These are examples of which part of the policy analysis process?

A) construct policy alternatives
B) develop evaluative criteria
C) draw conclusions
D) define and analyze the problem

Question 40

What is the first step in policy analysis?

Question 41

Why do most studies not recommend a single policy action?

Question 42

Explain how policy analysis can cover many different activities.

Question 43

What kind of information would you want to collect to conduct a technical feasibility analysis of a missile defense system for the United States?

Question 44

Provide an example of a think tank that specializes in policy analysis.

Question 45

Explain what "policy analysis" is and what it entails.

Question 46

In policy analysis, what is involved in "analyzing the problem"? What are the challenges one faces in doing so? And what is the benefit of a good analysis to policymaking?

Question 47

What does the term problem mean for policy analysts?

Question 48

Why do the perspectives and approaches of policy analysis apply to institutional issues as well as substantive policy questions?

Question 49

Discuss the five major steps involved in the policy analysis process. What types of questions are asked in each step? Provide an example for each step.

Question 50

Why do academic scientists (social and natural) tend to favor rigorous, comprehensive studies?

Question 51

Explain the difference between consensual and contentious policy analysis.

Question 52

Should analysis adhere to consensual norms or should they propose new values or ways of thinking?

Question 53

Give an example of the kind of organization that would implement each policy analysis approach.

Question 54

Describe the objectives, advantages, and limitations of the three types of policy analysis. Provide examples of organizations or studies for each type.

Question 55

What is the purpose of policy analysis?

Question 56

Which approach to policy analysis do you believe is rigorous?

Question 57

Compare and contrast rational-comprehensive decision making and incremental decision making.

Question 58

Policy analysis has been called "part science, part judgment." Explain what this means.

Question 59

What is the primary focus of the text?

Question 60

What do policy analysts have to do when assessing the alternatives?

Question 61

Why has the shift in the political environment (i.e. a dramatic rise in think tanks and increase of interest groups that seek to shape public opinion and affect the policy process) been more evident at the national level?