This book develops a distinctive and novel approach to data analysis, while at the same time providing a basic text accessible to students with no prior knowledge of the subject. The techniques upon which the book is based are not the traditional ones, but are founded upon modes of data analysis which have recently profoundly changed statistical practice among professionals. Exploratory data analysis is a fundamental statistical development, which this book introduces to a general audience.The examples used to illustrate the techniques described are all real ones, drawn from important social research over the past decade, and designed to illuminate interesting and significant sociological and political debates. The sources of the data utilized are described in the appendices, and attention is drawn to some of the deficiencies in the data. The theme is that data are produced, not given. The data sets used will also be available in machine-readable form and the exercise can be done using the statistical package 'Minitab'.The book is suitable for students in a range of social science disciplines, including sociology, economics, political science and geography.