From: Paul Gronke
Date: 4/26/99
Time: 9:34:05 AM
Remote Name: 152.3.32.79
I have used the Lowi, Ginsberg, and Weir for three years now. I can't speak much to whether students read the book closely or not. I do provide appropriate incentives, re: there will be exam "IDs" drawn from the text. While in an ideal world I might avoid the text, I can't see how you can do this and still cover the basic factual material, which many students lack.
One thing I'd like to mention is that the Lowi and Ginsberg website is nicely arranged. And Norton has been very helpful working with me, allowing me to set up online discussion forums, areas to discuss papers, etc.
You can see how this works by clicking here:
http://aaswebsv.aas.duke.edu/ps91
and then following the links to "Dicussion Forum" (student papers and reactions).