With a robust statistical package and eye-catching graphics Stata is fast becoming the statistical program of choice for political scientists. For speed, versatility, comprehensiveness, and ease-of-use, Stata is hard to beat. It can be a little daunting for beginning students, but no longer. Philip Pollock’s accessible introduction to the program offers students a step-by-step tutorial, leading them through descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation analysis, mean comparisons, linear correlation and regression (including dummy variables and interaction effects), and logistic regression—all tailored to political science material. With over 40 carefully crafted exercises and generous use of annotated screenshots, students will be navigating Stata’s graphics routines in no time. Ten feature boxes highlight some of Stata’s special capabilities while a concluding chapter provides guidance on how to set up a research project, as well as how to use Stata to read raw data.
Students will be amazed at what they can do as they work through chapters. Graphics capabilities that allow a user to create effective visual displays ranging from elementary but elegant histograms to sophisticated comparisons of logistic regression curves are a major attraction of Stata and are put to effective use in this one-of-a-kind workbook.
Paired with a traditional methods text, this companion volume equips students to analyze real political science research and comes complete with a CD-ROM that includes four customized datasets: two individual-level survey datasets (200 variables from the 2004 National Election Study and 150 variables from the 2002 General Social Survey), and two datasets containing aggregate-level variables on the fifty states and on 114 nations of the world.
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A Stata Companion to Political Analysis Table of Contents Introduction: Getting Started Testimonials “Pollock’s Stata Companion to Political Analysis is a welcomed addition given Stata’s rising popularity among political scientists. As a regular Stata user, the Companion allows me to employ the same software in my undergraduate methods courses that I use in my own research. It is the best introduction to a powerful statistical software package and the process of political analysis I have seen. Students are provided with clearly illustrated instructions on how to use Stata to analyze real data. Then, through engaging and politically relevant exercises that often employ an ‘arguing pundits’ format, students who are traditionally fearful of statistics not only gain a strong comprehension of statistical techniques, but an appreciation of the utility of statistical analysis for understanding the political world. I find it to be the most useful, direct and politically-relevant publication of its kind for undergraduate instruction.” - Robert R. Preuhs, University of Colorado-Boulder“Philip Pollock provides such an intuitive and precise understanding of the basics of social science statistics that I have actually recommended this text as a quick reference for beginning graduate students. His explication of the basics of doing statistical analysis, along with recommended strategies for inquiry is excellent. That the text also provides an accessible introduction to Stata only makes it better.” - Jan Leighley, University of Arizona“Pollock's Stata Companion to Political Analysis gives practical instruction on the use of Stata that many students and even researchers will find useful. His step-by-step instructions are clear, concise, and easy to follow.” - Paul J. Wahlbeck, George Washington UniversityBio(s)
Philip H. Pollock III, University of Central Florida Philip H. Pollock III is professor of political science at the University of Central Florida. He has taught courses in research methods at the undergraduate and graduate levels for nearly 30 years. His main research interests are American public opinion, voting behavior, techniques of quantitative analysis, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. His recent research has been on the effectiveness of Internet-based instruction. Pollock’s research has appeared in the American Journal of Political Science, Social Science Quarterly, and British Journal of Political Science. Recent scholarly publications include articles in Political Research Quarterly, the Journal of Political Science Education, and PS: Political Science and Politics. |