Emphasizing changes brought about in the social sciences by the electronic computer, this book explains to journalists the uses of quantitative methods and tools for gathering and preparing the news story. Chapters include "The Need for New Tools,""Getting Used to Numbers,""Concepts, Models, and Hypothesis Testing,""Statistics,""Computers,""Surveys,""Public Polls,""Political Polls,""Your Own Survey,""How to Analyze and Present Survey Data,""Field Experiments,""Public Records," and "Getting Down to Cases," Appendixes include "Suggestions for Further Reading" and "A Guided Tour of the Data Trip." The book is useful for journalists and students of journalism and could also prove valuable in introductory social science courses in statistics. (RB)