Conducting Empirical Analysis

Rosalee A. Clawson is professor of political science at Purdue University. Her research focuses on public opinion, mass media and politics, political psychology, and the politics of race, class, and gender. Her work has been published in the American Political Science Review, Public Opinion Quarterly, Political Communication, Journal of Black Studies, and Global Environmental Change. She is the coauthor of Legacy and Legitimacy: Black Americans and the Supreme Court. Zoe M. Oxley is professor of political science at Union College. Her research interests include the effects of the media on public opinion, gender and public opinion, women in electoral politics, and political psychology. Her work has been published in the American Political Science Review, Journal of Politics, Political Research Quarterly, Politics & Gender, and PS: Political Science and Politics.

Tables and Figures Preface Introduction to Conducting Empirical Analysis Using SDA Web-based Software Conclusion and Looking Ahead Political Socialization Parental Socialization Adult Socialization For Further Exploration: Life Cycle Effects Mini-Research Project Mass Media Where Do Citizens Get Their News? Newspaper Readership For Further Exploration: Evaluations of the News Media Mini-Research Project Attitude Stability and Attitude Change Attitude Change, Partisanship, and Exposure to Newspapers Collective Public Opinion: Attitude Stability or Attitude Change? For Further Exploration: Issue Attitude Stability or Change? Mini-Research Project Political Ideology Citizen Ideology Sex Differences in Ideology Ideology and Government Spending For Further Exploration: More on Ideology and Issue Positions Mini-Research Project Pluralistic Roots of Public Opinion Self-Interest Racial Attitudes For Further Exploration: Racial Prejudice Over Time For Further Exploration: Race and Racial Prejudice Mini-Research Project Political Knowledge Measuring Political Knowledge Political Knowledge and Gender Political Knowledge and Age Political Knowledge and Education For Further Exploration: Examining Political Knowledge Mini-Research Project Support for Civil Liberties Public Support for Free Expression Contextual Effects on Tolerance For Further Exploration: GSS Tolerance Measures Mini-Research Project Support for Civil Rights Attitudes toward Interracial Marriage Attitudes toward Gay Marriage For Further Exploration: Ideology and Attitudes toward Gay Marriage For Further Exploration: Examining Attitudes toward Gay Marriage Mini-Research Project Trust in Government and Social Capital Trust in Government Social Capital For Further Exploration: Measures of Political Trust Mini-Research Project Impact of Public Opinion on Policy Income Variation in Policy Opinions Appealing to the Public Mini-Research Projects Public Opinion and the 2008 Election Race, Gender, and Candidate Evaluation Racial Resentment and the Vote For Further Exploration: The Iraq War and the Vote Mini-Research Project Reference Appendix The SDA Archive The SDA Main Page Statistical Analysis Techniques and SDA Features

The exercises are well structured, and Clawson and Oxley provide very clear instructions on how to complete them. The questions included in the exercises seek to balance interpretation and critical thinking-helping students get at what the numbers tell us about the relationship between two variables and why that relationship exists. I like the hands-on approach, and I think the exercises address topics that students will find interesting and engaging -- Erin Cassese I think this book can help students experience the joy of discovery firsthand. Rather than talking about how data can be used to shed new insights on public opinion or refute hoary truths, Clawson and Oxley show them how to find out such things on their own. Hearing a professor say it or show it with slides is one thing, but doing it on your own and waiting for the data to pop up online is a lot more fun, informative, and powerful -- Paul Goren I found the text both straightforward and engaging, an often difficult balance to strike for a text teaching basic research methods. The explanations in the workbook are very clear-it walks students through each step and reinforces content with multiple examples. I was also quite impressed with the balance between skill development and substance. The explanations of how to perform analyses and the exercises are well grounded in both the substance of politics and well-established research areas in political science -- Laurie Rice