The #1 Ancillary for American government courses keeps getting better and better. American Government: An Introduction Using ExplorIt, now in its fifth edition, contains 16 computer-based assignments, a student version of MicroCase's ExplorIt software, and several real data sets. Everything a student needs to explore key topics of American government is included with this inexpensive workbook.

Workbook Exercises
Each exercise deals with a standard topic in American government. Using the included software, your students will map electoral and popular votes for presidential elections dating back to the 1860s. They will analyze national surveys to discover public opinion on such issues as taxes, entitlements, abortion, civil rights and civil liberties. Dozens of national trends will be examined, including the rise in federal employment, the decline of public confidence in government officials, and the fluctuation in defense spending throughout the 20th century. Students will see for themselves who is in Congress using age, gender, race, education, religion, military service, voting records, and other variables. Each assignment is packed with dozens of issues that are guaranteed to grab your students' interest.

Student ExplorIt
The workbook includes a Windows 95 and a DOS version of Student ExplorIt. ExplorIt is an exciting program that makes it easy for students to analyze real data. Both versions of the software have a point-and-click interface that can be learned in minutes, and results are always presented in colorful graphics � such as maps, bar graphs, pie charts, scatterplots, and trend plots. Best of all, you won't have to teach your students how to use the software, nor will you have to teach them how to understand their results. They learn everything they need to know just by following along in their assignments.

Real Data
Students find the computer-based assignments exciting because they know they're working with real data � not just reading someone's opinion! Seven data sets are included: NES contains all 1,714 individuals and 43 selected variables from the 1996 American National Election Study; GSS includes 5,896 individuals and 70 variables from the 1996 and 1994 General Social Surveys; STATES includes 149 variables for the 50 states; NATIONS contains 40 variables for the 174 largest nations of the world; COLONIAL has 10 variables for the original colonies; HOUSE contains demographic and voting data for the 435 members of the 105th Congress; USPRES is based on the 41 U.S. Presidents.

Computer Requirements
Both a Windows 95 and a DOS version of Student ExplorIt are provided.

Windows 95 Version: Requires an IBM compatible computer with Windows 95 (or higher), VGA graphics, 10 megabytes of free hard drive space, a CD-ROM drive, and a 3.5" floppy drive.

DOS Version: Requires an IBM compatible computer with VGA graphics capacity, 640K memory, one 3.5" floppy drive, a mouse, and DOS 3.3 or higher (or Windows 3.1 or higher). A CD-ROM drive is not required.