Deck 1: Introducing the Policy Process

Question 1

Birkland's book is most closely associated with which tradition in policy studies?

A)Case studies
B)Policy analysis
C)Policy process studies
D)All of the above

Answer 1

Policy process studies

Question 2

When newspapers and other media talk about "playing politics" with an issue, they usually mean that

A)A policy issue is undergoing careful scientific analysis.
B)Various interests are competing, often in seemingly self-interested ways, to gain their goals at the expense of others.
C)An election is being held.
D)The president recommends a new policy initiative.

Answer 2

Various interests are competing, often in seemingly self-interested ways, to gain their goals at the expense of others.

Question 3

Which of the following is not a feature of most definitions of public policy?

A)Policy is made in response to some sort of problem that requires attention.
B)Policy is made on the "public's" behalf.
C)Public policy is made by individuals acting in a free market.
D)Policy is oriented toward a goal or desired state, such as the solution of a problem.
E)Policy is what the government chooses to do or not to do.

Answer 3

Public policy is made by individuals acting in a free market.

Question 4

Why doesn't everyone engage major issues of public policy all the time?

A)No one can be concerned about all issues all the time.
B)Public policy study is boring.
C)Public policies are too confusing or citizens to understand.
D)Public policies don't really affect most people.

Question 5

People study the policy process because

A)They are interested in theories of how policy comes to be.
B)They want to be more effective advocates for particular policies.
C)They may be called upon to address policy matters that directly affect their communities and professions.
D)All of these are reasons to study the policy process.

Question 6

Anecdotal evidence is based on

A)Careful scientific analysis of public problems and solutions.
B)Individual stories and examples of problems and solutions.
C)Evidence collected in scientific laboratories.
D)The accumulated knowledge of an academic discipline.

Question 7

The DARE program lost federal funding, and many school districts dropped it, because

A)There is extensive scientific evidence of its ineffectiveness.
B)Because a competing group put together a better national program.
C)Because the government doesn't agree that there's a drug problem.
D)Because parents and students didn't like the program.

Question 8

Define the term "public policy." Explain your definition.

Question 9

Give two reasons to explain why people study public policy.

Question 10

Explain why theories of the public policy are as important as knowing about the substance of public policy.

Question 11

What is classical liberalism and how does it constitute the ideological foundation of the U.S. onstitution?

Question 12

Explain why "politics," as defined by social scientists, is central to the study of public policy.

Question 13

Why do many scholars also define public policy as what the government chooses not to do?

Question 14

Explain what another academic discipline other than political science, contribute to the study and understanding of public policy.

Question 15

Explain why anecdotal evidence or "stories" can be useful in policy debate, despite their weak foundation in science.

Question 16

What arguments do defenders of the DARE program use to justify the program's potential effectiveness, despite the scientific evidence that suggests that it is ineffective?

Question 17

Decisions made by courts are statements of public policy.

Question 18

In policy debates, the position backed by the best scientific evidence does not always "win" the debate.

Question 19

Harold Laswell defines politics as "who gets what, how they get it, and why they get it"

Question 20

Public policy is whatever government chooses to do or not to do.

Question 21

The central approach of this textbook is in policy process studies based primarily in political science.

Question 22

The social sciences is the branch of science that studies the actions and behaviors of people, groups, and institutions.

Question 23

The study of public policy is firmly grounded in the study of politics.

Question 24

There is no one shared sense of the "public interest" in most policy debates.

Question 25

Evidence is always necessary in policy debates

Question 26

Anecdotal evidence is the product of rigorous scientific analysis.

Question 27

The central approach of this textbook is in policy analysis focusing on the rigorous application of economic analysis.

Question 28

The Federalist Papers were written to promote the Declaration of Independence.

Question 29

Theories of public policy making ignore real-world policies and processes.

Question 30

There is one distinct and clear set of principles that govern the study of public policy.

Question 31

There is one true definition of public policy.