A Microsoft Excel® Companion to Political Analysis

Book excerpt: The trusted series of workbooks by Philip H. Pollock III and Barry C. Edwards continues with A Microsoft Excel®Companion to Political Analysis. In this new guide, students dive headfirst into actual political data working with the ubiquitous Excel software. Students learn by doing with new guided examples, annotated screenshots, step-by-step instructions, and exercises that reflect current scholarly debates in varied subfields of political science, including American politics, comparative politics, law and courts, and international relations. Chapters cover all major topics in political data analysis, from descriptive statistics through logistic regression, all with worked examples and exercises in Excel. No matter their professional goals, students can gain a leg up for their future careers by developing a working knowledge of statistics using Excel. By encouraging students to build on their existing familiarity with the Excel program, instructors can flatten the statistics learning curve and take some of the intimidation out of the learning process. Gain lost time usually spent troubleshooting software to provide students with a smooth transition into political analysis.