An Introduction to Political and Social Data Analysis (With R)

Clarity in communication is absolutely essential in introductory methodology and data science courses. Holbrook's way with words makes complicated statistical and computational language easy to understand and instills confidence in students.

The book introduces many useful concepts without getting too bogged down in any individual concept. Students get a huge, wide exposure to content. This will help facilitate class conversations on day one, which is a real leverage.

Holbrook introduces complex and technically challenging concepts in a way that, for those new to the world of R, is approachable and easy to understand. Fantastic introductory text for undergraduate study.

Chapter 1 provides a strong overview of the research process. While it talks a lot about data, it does so in a non-technical way that I think most undergraduates would be able to get through reasonably well. The examples provided are relevant and broadly interesting.

This text is structured well for taking students through Data Analysis for political science. Students are walked through both the meaning of the statistics examined and how the computer can be made to generate them. Each section builds on the preceding sections in a clear manner. The only problem with this book is that I wish I had written it. I can't wait to use it.

Professor Holbrook's book provides an accessible entry-point for students of all levels to use data for political and social research, while offering clear and easy-to-understand guidance to the use of the R software.

This is a highly engaging and practical introduction to social research using R. All the essentials are here with little to no distracting material that might confuse already anxious students. I highly recommend this text.