Taylor and Francis

Taylor and Francis

English

“The strength of this text is that Galderisi very carefully walks students through the statistical exercises and, in many cases, provides visual aids to help demonstrate the patterns or conclusions. He also works hard to take a step back from the statistics to help students understand the meaning of the analysis and why statistical conclusions may be invalid. This is not always included in many texts, which have more of a ‘how-to’ approach, while the approach here is very thoughtful.” – Daniel Coffey, University of Akron “Understanding Political Science Statistics is an indispensable text that gives students the tools to understand how to think about and analyze political phenomenon. Galderisi’s applied, problem-focused approach to thinking about hypothesis testing and quantitative analysis ensure that it is both comprehensive and accessible to a broad range of readers with varying backgrounds and mathematical acumen.” – Vladimir Kogan, Ohio State University “Most textbooks in this field start with statistics, and then tack on political examples in aid of the math. The starting point for Peter Galderisi’s well-crafted new book is learning about politics, with the formulas and data always working to answer substantively important questions about the political world. I’ve assigned it in my classes, and seen firsthand how engaged students become with the concepts and tools of quantitative analysis when a text piques and satisfies their curiosity about politics. Understanding Political Science Statistics does this, without sacrificing rigor in any way.” – Thad Kousser, UC San Diego “Understanding Political Science Statistics presents introductory statistics for political science students in an engaging, pragmatic, and problem-centric fashion that will be very approachable to undergraduates. Instead of an overly formal mathematical presentation, Galderisi explores research design and statistical concepts intuitively, showing students who may not be initially interested in the material how quantitative data and analysis can help them better understand contemporary issues in political science and public policy.” – Jack Reilly, New College of Florida “This is an ideal book for an undergraduate research methods course in political science. Galderisi offers a real treat for both students and instructors of statistics and research methods in political science. His work is thoroughly readable and at the same time provides a broad overview of the tools that everyone needs to know to be an informed consumer—and potentially a future producer—of quantitative research in political science.” – Mack Shelley, Iowa State University