polknowMT {catSurv}

MTurk Political Knowledge

Description

Data from Amazon Mechanical Turkers in 2012 responding to 64 political knowledge questions. Political knowledge questions had a varying number of response options, noted below. This dataset codes answers as either correct (a value of 0) or incorrect (a value of 1).

Usage

data(polknowMT)

Format

A data frame with 810 observations on the following 64 questions.

Q1

How long is one term for the President of the United States?

Eight years; Six years; Four years; Two years

Q2

The FDA is part of the national government primarily responsible for regulating

Food quality; The national parks; Electricity production and energy; Pollution and the environment

Q3

Who is the Vice President of the United States?

Leon Panetta; William Daley; Hillary Clinton; Joe Biden

Q4

The federal debt is

Much smaller than it was 20 years ago; The difference between imports and exports with foreign countries; The annual difference between spending and tax revenues; The accumulated borrowing of the federal government that has not been repaid

Q5

How many times can an individual be elected President of the United States under current laws?

Any number of terms; Three times; Twice; Once

Q6

What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?

The Articles of Confederation; The inalienable right; The Bill of Rights; The Declaration of Independence

Q7

Is the U.S. federal budget deficit, the amount by which the governments spending exceeds the amount of money it collects, now bigger, about the same, or smaller than it was during most of the 1990s?

Smaller; About the same; Bigger

Q8

Who signs bills to become laws?

The President; The Vice President; The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; The Secretary of State

Q9

Which party is generally more supportive of creating a way for immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally to eventually become citizens?

The Republican Party; The Democratic Party

Q10

In what month do we vote for the President?

November; October; February; January

Q11

What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?

The Senate and the Supreme Court; The House of Lords and the House of Commons; The House of Representative and the Supreme Court; The Senate and House of Representatives

Q12

Which party is generally more supportive of restricting access to abortion?

The Republican Party; The Democratic Party

Q13

Which of these political parties is considered most conservative?

Green Party; Republican Party; Democratic Party

Q14

The NRA is an organization that advocates for

Clean elections; A cleaner environment; The rights of gun owners; Women's rights

Q15

Compared to 30 years ago, is the difference in incomes between the top 20% of households and the bottom 20% of households now bigger, smaller, or the same?

The difference is now the same as 30 years ago; The difference is now smaller than 30 years ago; The difference is now bigger than 30 years ago

Q16

The EPA is part of the national government primarily responsible for regulating

Food quality; The national parks; Electricity production and energy; Pollution and the environment

Q17

Which party is generally more supportive of reducing the size of the defense budget?

The Republican Party; The Democratic Party

Q18

Which party is generally more supportive of increasing taxes on higher income people to reduce the federal budget deficit?

The Republican Party; The Democratic Party

Q19

Which party is generally more supportive of allowing drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge?

The Republican Party; The Democratic Party

Q20

Who is the Commander in Chief of the military?

The Attorney General; The President; The Secretary of Defense; The Vice President

Q21

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees all of these rights EXCEPT

Right to remain silent; Right to the free exercise of religion; Right to free speech; Right to peaceably assemble

Q22

Roe v Wade is a case decided by the Supreme Court that relates to

Executive power; Campaign finance; Birth control; Abortion

Q23

Social Security is

Funded by the personal income tax; Operated by state government; The responsibility of the Department of Defense; The benefit program for senior citizens

Q24

What is Medicare?

A private, non-profit organization that runs free health clinic; A private health insurance plan sold to individuals in all 50 states; A program run by state governments to provide health care to poor people; A program run by the U.S. federal government to pay for old people's health care

Q25

How many senators are elected from each state?

It depends on the population of the state; Four; Two; One

Q26

How many votes are required in Congress to override a presidential veto

A simple majority of both houses of Congress; A simple majority of one house of Congress; A two-thirds majority of both houses of Congress; A two-thirds majority of one house of Congress

Q27

The Secretary of State

Serves a two-year term; Serves the state governments; Is nominated by the president; Heads the armed services

Q28

Near the end of an election campaign, a polls shows that an issue that no candidate has mentioned is of great concern to voters. What is most likely to happen?

Some candidates will drop out of the race; Candidates will start talking about the issue; Newspapers will not report the results of the poll; The election will be postponed

Q29

Liberals are generally said to

Support pro-life policies; Oppose all tax increases; Support military spending; Support government programs to give government assistance the needy

Q30

Which party is generally more supportive of reducing the size and scope of the federal government?

The Republican Party; The Democratic Party

Q31

The ability of a minority of senators to prevent a vote on a bill is known as Suspension of the rules; Enrollment; A veto; A filibuster

Q32

conservatives are generally said to

Support pro-choice policies; Support tax cuts; Oppose military spending; Support government programs to give government assistance to the needy

Q33

Which of these regions of the country is generally considered to be most supportive of Republican candidates

Midwest; South; West Coast; New England

Q34

The presiding officer in the House of Representatives is

The Majority Leader; The Sergeant at Arms; The Vice President of the United States; The Speaker

Q35

Which of these countries is NOT a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council

United Kingdom; France; India; China

Q36

Which part has a majority of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives?

Neither; Democrats; Republicans

Q37

What state holds the first primary election in Presidential primaries?

Florida; Nevada; South Carolina; New Hampshire

Q38

Who is the Speaker of the House of Representatives?

Mitt Romney; Eric Holder; Harry Reid; John Boehner

Q39

Most cases are considered by the Supreme Court

In even-numbered years; At the request of the Congress; Upon order of the president; With the approval of at least four justices

Q40

How many Justices typically serve on the U.S. Supreme Court

Eleven; Nine; Eight; Seven

Q41

What job or political office is no held by Ben Bernanke?

None of these; Minority Whip of the U.S. House; Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court; Majority leader of the U.S. Senate, Chairman of the Federal Reserve

Q42

Whose responsibility is it to nominate judges to the Federal Courts

The state governors; The Supreme Court; Congress; President

Q43

Who is the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court?

Larry Thompson; Anthony Kennedy; David Cole; John Roberts

Q44

The U.S. Senate

Votes to confirm nominees to the U.S. Supreme court chosen by the House of Representatives; Plays no role in choosing the members of the U.S. Supreme Court; Chooses members of the U.S. Supreme Court; Votes to confirm nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court chosen by the President

Q45

Which party has a majority of seats in the U.S. Senate

Neither; Democrats; Republicans

Q46

Which of the states listed below has the greatest number of electoral college votes in the U.S. Presidential Elections?

Puerto Rico; Nevada; North Dakota; Washington, D.C.

Q47

Citizens United v the FEC is a case decided by the Supreme Court that relates to

Executive power; Campaign finance; Birth control; Abortion

Q48

For how many years is a United States Senator elected that is, how many years are there in one full term of office for a U.S. Senator?

None of these; Eight years; Six years; Four years; Two years

Q49

Who is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom?

Richard Branson; Tony Hayward; Nick Clegg; David Cameron

Q50

The president of Afghanistan is named

Bashar al-Assad; Hosni Mubarak; Hamid Karzai; Nouri al-Maliki

Q51

The House of Representatives has how many voting members?

Four hundred and forty-one; Four hundred and thirty-five; Two hundred; One hundred

Q52

The President of the Senate is

The Majority Leader; The Sergeant at Arms; The Vice President of the United States; The senior senator of the majority party

Q53

On which of the following federal programs is the most money spent each year?

Medicare; Education; Subsidies to farmers; Aid to foreign countries

Q54

What do all constitutional governments have?

Separation of church and state; A bill of rights; A President as the head of government; Limits on political power

Q55

One which of the following does the U.S. federal government spend the least money?

Social Security; National defense; Medicare; Foreign aid

Q56

The head of the Department of Justice is

Kathleen Sebelius; Eric Holder; Timothy Geithner; Hillary Clinton

Q57

The president may NOT

Declare war; Pardon criminals without justification; Appoint federal officials when Congress is in recess; Refuse to sign legislation passed by Congress

Q58

Which of these is NOT primarily the responsibility of the Federal government in Washington?

Interstate commerce; Negotiating treaties with foreign countries; Education; National defense

Q59

Who is the current president of Mexico?

Vincente Fox; Hugo Chavez; Dilma Rousseff; Felipe Calderon

Q60

Which of the following actions does the United States federal government commonly take to finance a budget deficit?

Expanding public-works projects; Borrowing from the public; Imposing import quotas; Printing more money

Q61

Common Cause is an organization that advocates for

Women's rights; Clean elections; A cleaner environment; The right of gun owners

Q62

The Byrd Rule is relevant

During the confirmation of cabinet members; For national party conventions; During Congressional debates over non-budgetary policies; For the Reconciliation process

Q63

The Majority Leader of the House of Representative is

Nancy Pelosi; Kevin McCarthy; Eric Cantor; John Boehner

Q64

On which of the following does the U.S. federal government spend the most money each year?

Education; Medicare; Interest on the national debt; National defense

Source

https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=hdl:1902.1/19381

References

Jacob M. Montgomery and Joshua Cutler. 2013. "Computerized Adaptive Testing for Public Opinion Surveys." Political Analysis (Spring 2013) 21 (2): 172-192.