Simplifying the Data in Democracy: SAGE publishes Vital Statistics on American Politics 2015-2016

Ahead of an important election year, many are turning to political data for insight on the American political system—data that is vast and at times, complex. SAGE today announces the release of Vital Statistics on American Politics 2015-2016, containing easy-to-understand, statistical data about many topics in American politics in one volume. The text is updated with information from hundreds of sources and is written for students, professional researchers and interested citizens wanting to learn about a broad spectrum of United States politics and policies.

“Some readers, particularly students who are accustomed to working with numbers as they appear in textbooks, are at times frustrated, perhaps even mystified, when confronted with tables and figures” wrote the co-authors/editors Dr. Harold W. Stanley and Dr. Richard G. Niemi. “It’s important for these readers to realize that the fanciest statistics in this text are averages or medians. The figures and tables are easy to read. Many data are merely lists, but they’re useful and some lengthy as they cover as many as two hundred twenty-five years.”

The data, taken from sources such as the Pew Research Center, reference volumes, government publications, political science journals, monographs, press releases and many others, are presented in 11 sections:

• Elections and Political Parties   
• Campaign Finance and Political Action Committees       
• Public Opinion and Voting        
• The Media        
• Congress         
• The Presidency and Executive Branch   
• The Judiciary    
• Federalism       
• Foreign and Military Policy        
• Social Policy    
• Economic Policy

The text helps readers understand how to extract the maximum information from its tables and figures with explanatory chapter introductions and a Guide to References for Political Statistics, which explains the various sources used and where to look for additional information.

The editors also wrote, “Now more than ever, understanding politics requires an ability to comprehend numerical data and the assumptions behind them. For depth of information and ease of use, this updated edition is the best resource of its kind.”

For more information, click here. A FREE 30-day online trial of SAGE Knowledge, including Vital Statistics on American Politics 2015-2016, is available by emailing librarysales@sagepub.com.

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Vital Statistics on American Politics 2015-2016

September 2015                                        472 pages

ISBN: 978-1-4833-8031-5            Print Price: $135.00

eISBN: 978-1-4833-8029-2

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Richard G. Niemi is professor of political science at the University of Rochester. He is the coauthor of many books, including Civic Education: What Makes Students Learn and Term Limits in the State Legislatures. He has written numerous articles on political socialization, voting and legislative districting. He is currently doing research on civic education, term limits and voting.

Harold W. Stanley is the Geurin-Pettus Distinguished Chair in American Politics and Political Economy at Southern Methodist University. In 1979, he joined the University Of Rochester Department Of Political Science and served as its chair from 1996-1999. Known as an expert in American national politics and electoral change in the South, Stanley's current research concerns presidential nominations, partisan change and voting rights.

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SAGE Founded 50 years ago by Sara Miller McCune to support the dissemination of usable knowledge and educate a global community, SAGE publishes more than 850 journals and over 800 new books each year, spanning a wide range of subject areas. A growing selection of library products includes archives, data and video. SAGE remains majority owned by our founder and after her lifetime will become owned by a charitable trust that secures the company’s continued independence. Principal offices are located in Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC. www.sagepub.com