We describe a non-statistics, data-based activity developed by the author for an interdisciplinary course on mathematics and politics that uses actual ballot data from the City of San Francisco, California. The assignment is appropriate for a general education audience and develops students' ability to work with data, improves their understanding…

Engaging students in the design, administration, and postelection analysis of an exit poll can be an excellent experiential learning activity. Lelieveldt and Rossen (2009) argue that exit polls are a "perfect teaching tool" because they provide students with a cooperative (rather than competitive) learning experience; help students…

This paper explores various aspects of voting behavior among nearly 900 British Columbia voters in the 1979 Canadian federal election. Specifically, the paper examines the aggregate significance of strategic choice in a voting situation and identifies factors which increase or decrease an individual's disposition to act strategically. Strategic…

Social scientists in the United States have been reluctant to use ideological/demographic research to explain and predict voting behavior because of criticism from survey researchers that such an approach provides interpretations only of aggregate data, cannot establish a direct causal link between independent characteristics and voting behavior,…

This resource unit, developed by the University of Minnesota's Project Social Studies, introduces eighth graders to political parties and elections. Ways in which political scientists study voting behavior, sampling techniques, problems arising from interpreting findings, and the use of correlational studies are presented. The unit includes an…

A study was undertaken in Washington state to investigate voting behavior on the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which was approved by Washington state voters in 1972. Specifically, research objectives were to determine who was for or against the ERA, to assess the nature of objections to the ERA, and to consider implications of the ERA for family…