Political Science Research Methods set the standard for being relevant, comprehensive, and ever mindful of its student audience. With the seventh edition, the authors further refine their popular text to be more welcoming and more intuitive than ever an ideal gateway to understanding not just the "how" but also the "why" behind research in the discipline. Updates to this new edition include: new case studies of political science research in chapter 1 from causes of income inequality, to repression of human rights, to judicial decision making that serve as touchpoints throughout the book; updated discussion in chapter 2 about the empirical approach to political science; a heavily revamped chapter 3 with clearer guidance on how to develop research questions along with steps for doing a literature review more appropriately placed earlier in the text; new extended case study on polling and the health care debate in chapter 7 on sampling; greater explanation of how to do content analysis in chapter 9 on document analysis; separate chapters for descriptive and inferential statistics step out instruction and increase accessibility; and a brand new annotated research article in chapter 15. Bolded key terms, a glossary, and explanatory charts, figures, and tables help aid students learning. "Helpful hint" boxes give students nuts-and-bolts reminders they can refer to when conducting their own research.