Aimed at graduate students and researchers, this comprehensive textbook provides a modern and self-contained treatment of liquid crystals and their computer simulations. It introduces various liquid crystal systems, presenting both the theory and the methodologies required to link experiment and computer simulation in a clear and accessible way.

Paul M. Kellstedt is a professor of political science at Texas A&M University.

List of Figures; List of Tables; Preface; Acknowledgments; 1. The Scientific Study of Society; 2. The Art of Theory Building; 3. Evaluating Causal Relationships; 4. Research Design; 5. Survey Research; 6. Measuring Concepts of Interest; 7. Getting to Know Your Data; 8. Probability and Statistical Inference; 9. Bivariate Hypothesis Testing; 10. Two-Variable Regression Models; 11. Multiple Regression; 12. Putting it all Together to Produce Effective Research; Appendix A. Critical Values of Chi-square; Appendix B. Critical Values of t; Appendix C. The ¿ Link Function for Binomial Logit Models; Appendix D. The ¿ Link Function for Binomial Probit Models; References; Index.