This document provides estimates of the number and characteristics of political science faculty and students. The data utilized in this report are drawn from a number of sources: National Center for Education Statistics, National Research Council's Survey of Earned Doctorates; National Science Foundation; and two data collection devices of the American Political Science Association: The Guide to Graduate Study in Political Science and The Survey of Departments.

In many cases the statistics presented are estimates of the relevant population based on information available on a sample of cases. We shall attempt to be explicit about our definitions and estimation procedures, so that the reader can draw his own conclusions on the usefulness of individual components of this report.