Political Science Data: Find Data, Produce Results, Share Insights.

We feature resources to support teaching and learning political science research merthods with The Essentials of Political Analysis and the Companions to Political Analysis. Featured resources update weekly to track typical fall, spring, and summer teaching patterns

THIS WEEK: A Scientific Approach to Politics

Overview: Students are introduced to the scientific approach in political analysis, focusing on evidence-based reasoning and critical inquiry. The course begins by discussing how scientific principles are applied to study political phenomena, setting the stage for the course. The Essentials preface and Companion introductions do not include exercises because this is typically an orientation week when students can drop/add classes.

📖 Read Preface and Introduction (download pdf of Introduction) for Essentials 7e
📚 Read Preface and Getting Started in Stata Companion 5e | R Companion 3e | Excel Companion | SPSS Companion 7e
🔁 Review terms for 5 minutes

Practice Quiz for A Scientific Approach to Politics

▶️ Watch streaming lectures to learn about the scientific approach to politics!
💻 Practice with Software: See Companions for Stata | R | Excel | SPSS

UPCOMING: The Definition and Measurement of Concepts

Overview: Students will learn how to define political concepts and operationalize them into measurable variables. Skills include formulating clear definitions and understanding the link between theoretical and empirical research using software to create operational definitions.

📖 Read Chapter 1 in Essentials 7e
📚 Read Chapter 1 in Stata Companion 5e | R Companion 3e | Excel Companion | SPSS Companion 7e
🔁 Review terms for 5 minutes

Practice Quiz for The Definition and Measurement of Concepts

▶️ Watch streaming lectures for introduction to main ideas
💻 Practice with Software: See Companions for Stata | R | Excel | SPSS
📄 Textbook Features: Learning objectives, glossaries & chapter exercises.
🛡️️ Instructor resources: presentations, demo. code, quiz questions, solutions manuals (available via Sage Publications)

Past Special Editions of Political Science Data

Online Survey Quality

Politics of Gun Violence

Perspectives on Russia-Ukraine War

Promise and Peril of Mexican Politics

Political Phenomena of Donald Trump

NOW AVAILABLE: The Essentials of Political Analysis, 7th EditionDownload pdf of Introduction pdf

Teach Political Analysis

Create a course outline with ease! Integrate the classic text, Essentials of Political Analysis, with Companions for SPSS, Stata, Excel & R. Teach with software of your choice.

MORE FOR TEACHERS: Sample Course Syllabi featuring our textbooks, varied software, with/without paper assignments

Review Terms for 5 Minutes - Pick chapters or just press play for quick study

Run Live R Demos in Browser - Excellent for online teaching

Links to More Resources for Teaching Political Analysis

Watch & Learn


Random Digit Dialing Vs. Registration Based Sampling
A Marist Poll Academy case study (2:30)


Does It Matter Who Sponsors a Poll?
A Marist Poll Academy case study (2:29)

MORE VIDEOS: See Video Channels for more political science videos!

LEARN HOW: Watch Lecture Videos for Essentials of Political Analysis, Video Tutorials for R, Stata, SPSS, and Excel

ORIGINAL PROJECT: Studying Presidents

Pres. A. Johnson's Positions on Roll Call Votes:
39th: House Senate 40th: House Senate

This data is part of a larger project to identify the policy preferences of all U.S. Presidents. See index.

More Q. Than A.

Career Planning Advice for Students (in Simple Diagram)
As a college professor, I have had many opportunities to talk with students about their...

MORE QUESTIONS: Cases that Illustrate Felony-Murder Rule

Blogs, Podcasts & Journals

Political Science Now: .American Political Science Association blog covering people, research and news in political science.

Public Administration: .Publishes articles on all facets of public administration, public policy and public management.

Am. Rev. of Politics: .Publishes original research on American political development, Southern Politics, early American political thought, and American political process.

Law and Philosophy: .Work that is of common interest to individuals in the disciplines of jurisprudence and legal philosophy.

West European Politics: .One of the most authoritative journals covering politics, government and public policy in Western Europe.

See All Political Science Journals

Data Sites

Taiwan Election & Democratization Study: .A continual large-scale survey research project that integrates several election-oriented face-to-face surveys in Taiwan.

Correlates of War Project Datasets: .COW seeks to facilitate the collection, dissemination, and use of accurate and reliable quantitative data in international relations.

Real Time Event Data / Phoenix: .Event data on political and social events around the globe, along with the software and methodology needed to analyze the data.

Japanese General Social Surveys: .Conducts repeated social surveys to study the attitudes and behavior of Japanese people comprehensively.

UN Univ. World Inst. for Dev. Econ. Research: .Provides economic analysis and policy advice with the aim of promoting sustainable and equitable development for all, see datasets

See All Data Sites

Authors with Datasets

Hicks, William .

Edwards, Barry .University of Central Florida, more about me.

Gulzar, Saad .Stanford

Bang Petersen, Michael .

Jensen, Nathan .Professor, University at Texas Austin

Dassonneville, Ruth .

Gelpi, Christopher .Ohio State University, see datasets.

Butler, Daniel .

Kogan, Vladimir .

Kim, Sung Eun .

See All Authors with Datasets