UGC-NET (NTA) POPULATION STUDIES, JUNE-2025

When preparing a data collection tool (such as a questionnaire or interview schedule), the following principles ensure clarity, validity, and reliability of the collected data:
A. Keep the items as brief as possible: Each question should be concise and focused on one idea to avoid confusion or fatigue. Lengthy questions can distract or bias respondents.
B. Avoid double-barreled questions: A doublebarreled question combines two issues in one (e.g., "Do you like the teacher and the subject?"). It creates ambiguity because a respondent may agree with one part but not the other. Every item should address only one concept at a time.
D. Ask a question as directly as possible: Questions should be simple, unambiguous, and straightforward so that all respondents interpret them the same way. Directness improves comprehension and minimizes response error.
Using technical or jargon-filled language (C) should be avoided because it can confuse respondents, especially if the population includes individuals unfamiliar with specialized terminology.
Hence, the correct considerations are A, B, and D only.

Several indices have been developed to measure errors and distortions in age data resulting from age misreporting or digit preference:
B. Whipple's Index: Measures preference for terminal digits 0 and 5 in reported ages. A perfectly accurate age distribution gives a value of 100; higher values indicate greater heaping.
C. Myer's Blended Index: Measures preference or avoidance for all ten terminal digits (0-9) in reported ages, showing the degree of digit bias.
D. Bagchi's Index: A refinement used mainly in Indian demographic studies to measure the extent of digit preference and irregularities in reported age data, improving on Whipple's index by including multiple digits. The Dissimilarity Index (A) measures differences between two distributions, not specifically agereporting errors.
Therefore, the correct measures are B, C, and D only.

Mathematical methods of population projection use mathematical models to fit past population trends and extrapolate them into the future. These include:
A. Linear method: Assumes constant numerical growth each period; population increases by the same amount per unit of time.
C. Polynomial method: Fits a polynomial curve (e.g., quadratic or cubic) to past data for more flexibility than a straight line.
D. Gompertz method: Assumes population growth follows a sigmoid (S-shaped) curve - slow at first, rapid in mid-stages, and slowing as it nears a saturation point.
The Component Method (B) is a cohort-based analytical method, not purely mathematical, as it projects separately by fertility, mortality, and migration. Hence, the correct mathematical methods are A, C, and D only.

Measures of dispersion describe the spread or variability of data around a central value. These include:
A. Range: The simplest measure; difference between the highest and lowest values.
B. Variance: Measures the average squared deviation from the mean; shows how data points are spread out.
D. Standard deviation: The square root of variance; expresses dispersion in the same units as the original data, making interpretation easier.
Mean (C) is a measure of central tendency, not of dispersion. Therefore, the correct measures of dispersion are A, B, and D only.

The sources of internal migration data in India include:
B. Administrative records: Sources like ration cards, voter lists, and registration data provide information on residential movement.
C. National Sample Survey (NSS): Collects detailed information on internal migration, reasons for migration, and duration of residence.
D. Population Census: The most comprehensive source, giving data on place of birth, place of last residence, and duration of stay - essential for analyzing migration flows.
The National Family Health Survey (A) primarily focuses on population health, fertility, and nutrition, not detailed migration data.
Hence, the major sources are B, C, and D only.

Thomas Robert Malthus, in his Essay on the Principle of Population (1798), explained that population growth tends to outpace the growth of means of subsistence, leading to inevitable checks. He proposed two categories of checks to restrict population growth:
A. Means of subsistence: The availability of food and resources acts as a natural limitation - population cannot exceed what can be supported by food production.
B. Positive checks: These are factors that increase mortality, such as famine, disease, and war, operating when the population exceeds the means of subsistence.
D. Preventive checks: These are voluntary measures to reduce fertility, such as delayed marriage, celibacy, and moral restraint, which act before overpopulation occurs.
Birth spacing (C) was not a concept discussed by Malthus; it emerged later in the context of modern family planning.
Hence, the correct set is A, B, and D only.

Hormonal contraceptive methods work by releasing synthetic hormones (estrogen and/or progesterone) that prevent ovulation and alter cervical mucus or the uterine lining to inhibit fertilization.
A. Oral pill: Contains hormones taken daily to prevent ovulation.
C. Injectables: Hormone injections (usually progestin-based) that provide protection for 1-3 months per dose.
Condom (B) is a barrier method, not hormonal, as it physically prevents sperm entry. IUD (D) is either a copper device (non-hormonal) or levonorgestrel-based (hormonal), but in the standard classification, IUDs are considered mechanical or intrauterine devices, not general hormonal methods.
Therefore, the hormonal methods among these are A and C only.

The sex ratio (number of females per 1,000 males) in a population is influenced by multiple demographic and social factors:
A. Sex differentials in enumeration: Underreporting of females or misreporting of gender during censuses can skew the ratio.
B. Sex ratio at birth: Biological and cultural factors, including sex-selective practices, directly affect the initial balance of males and females.
C. Sex differentials in migration: Maledominated labor migration lowers sex ratios in the sending regions and raises them in receiving regions.
D. Sex differentials in mortality: Generally, higher female mortality (especially in developing regions) or male mortality (in older ages) influences overall sex ratios.
Since all four factors contribute to variations in sex ratio, the correct set is A, B, C, and D.

According to United Nations (1998) definitions, the economically active population comprises individuals engaged in production of goods and services, including both employed and unemployed persons who are actively seeking work. Not considered economically active are:
A. Students: Focused on education, not production.
C. Homemakers: Engaged in non-remunerated domestic duties.
D. Pension or Capital Gain recipients: Individuals living on retirement income or investments, not active employment.
The unemployed (B), although not currently working, are included as economically active if they are seeking work.
Thus, those excluded are A, C, and D only.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by the United Nations in 2015, consist of 17 global goals addressing poverty, inequality, environmental protection, and prosperity for all by 2030. Included among them are:
B. End poverty in all its forms everywhere (Goal 1). are:
C. Reduce inequality within and among countries (Goal 10).
D. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns (Goal 12).
Space exploration (A) is not part of the SDGsit falls outside the UN's developmental and sustainability agenda.
Hence, the correct combination of SDG-related goals is B, C, and D only.