Empirical Political Analysis: Research Methods in Political Science (5th Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Not worth $85.00
Review: I'm using this book for my undergrad political science class on research design and statistical analysis. I have previously used Johnson and Joslyn's book, which is much less expensive than Manheim and Rich. If I had known that the bookstore would charge the students so much, I would not have assigned it. The authors do a good job with research design, but the statistical section is poorly organized, and has at least one formula incorrect. If you are looking for a good book on empirical political analysis, you could probably find a better research design book and a better statistics book for about the same price.

Rating:
Summary: A Solid and Accessible Textbook on Methodology
Review: The book is clearly written, and I am using it this semester for an undergraduate class I teach. I am not a big fan of textbooks in general, as I rarely use them myself, and when I do, it is mostly for concrete and breif reference purposes. This book is very accessible. I especially liked the chapter on focus groups. The chapter on content analysis is also good, because it conveys very clearly the problems that one faces with this particular method, but at the same time the chapter is not mathematically deep. I find that most of my studnets find this book easy to use. As a book on statistics, it is not very powerful, and the presentation of even the basic methods could use better organization. But overall, this is still a useful text.

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your gray matter!
Review: This book talks down to the student. It is elementary to the extent of being obvious. The field has moved on and so should we. Get the King, Keohane and Verba book instead, which is written lucidly and actually isnpires thought.