How Does a Person's Knowledge of Economics Effect Their Views on Political Issues?

I have chosen for my research topic to ask "How does a person's knowledge of economics effect their views on political issues?". I believe it will be possible to help determine how an individual may respond to incentives offered from politicians by determining their level of economic knowledge. A well informed public is necessary for good government. It is my opinion that many politicians do not want a well-informed public as that may cause conflict with their personal aspirations.

To collect data I would like to start with a sample group of 50 to 100 people of voting age, preferably split between the political parties. Each participant will be given a test to determine their level of economic knowledge. This test will consist of generally accepted economic principles rather than more controversial subjects such as Austrian theory versus Keynesian theory. After the test determines their economic aptitude the participants will be individually interviewed about their political views.

Results of the conducted interviews will then be summarized and combined with the results of their knowledge test. From these results we can determine if there are trends in attituted and how they relate to their test scores. If we see trends in the data such as many with low economic understanding tend to support a higher minimum wage we can do a quantitative study specifically about that issue with a larger sampling size. Those results, if reliable, could then be generalized across the population. We could then study how these people vote to see if the candidates they are supporting are using these issues to get elected.

Many aspects of the APA ethical code apply to conducting this research project. The standard that I believe applies the most is the fourth standard, Privacy and Confidentiality. Section 4.01 states that researchers must protect confidential information in whatever medium it may exist (American Pyschological Association, 2010). 4.03 indicates that the participant must give consent to be recorded for an interview (American Pyschological Association, 2010). 4.04 indicates that researchers may only include in their reports information related to the subject being researched as well as limiting discussion of the confidential information to only those people conducting the research and then only for appropriate or professional purposes. (American Pyschological Association, 2010)

Bibliography

American Pyschological Association. (2010). Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Retrieved April 7, 2012, from American Pyschological Association: http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx#