Equip students with the skills and confidence they need to conduct political analyses and critically assess statistical research. In the Seventh Edition of The Essentials of Political Science, bestselling authors Philip H. Pollock III and Barry C. Edwards build students' analytic abilities and develop their statistical reasoning with new data, fresh exercises, and clear examples. This brief and reader-friendly guide walks students through the essentials— defining measurement, formulating and testing hypotheses, measuring variables—while using key terms, chapter-opening objectives, over 80 tables and figures, and practical exercises to get them using and applying their new skills. Using Excel, R, SPSS, or STATA? Companion workbooks featuring statistical software instructions and exercises help your students apply their knowledge.