Public Administration Research Methods: Tools for Evaluation and Evidence-Based Practice

ISBN-13: 9781138059290 / Angielski / Miękka / 2018 / 534 str.

Warren S. Eller; Brian J. Gerber; Scott E. Robinson

Opis

The best decisions made by public managers are based not on instinct, but on an informed understanding of what's happening on the ground. Policy may be directed by ideology, but it must also be founded on reality. The challenge of making the right decisions as a public manager is often, therefore, based on the need for rigorous, actionable research. In this textbook, Eller, Gerber, and Robinson show students of Public Administration exactly how to use both qualitative and quantitative research techniques to give them the best chance to make the right decisions. Uniquely, the book presents the various methodologies through a series of real-life case studies, with each chapter exploring the types of situations where a public sector manager can use research to answer specific questions, and how that research can inform future policy. Taking readers through the key concepts, from research design and sampling to interviews, survey data, and more statistical-based approaches, the book builds to provide the complete guide to using research in the public and voluntary sectors. New to this edition:

• To better orient the student, the second edition is thematically arranged. Five sections, each providing a short essay, provide not only previews of the content of each section, but more importantly guide the reader through how the concepts and techniques covered relate to real-world use and application.
• A new chapter on applied quantitative analyses has also been added to offer coverage of several commonly-used and useful analytic techniques for decision making for policy and management: benefit-cost analysis, risk assessment, and forecasting.
• The second edition is accompanied by a companion website containing suggested course plans and sample syllabi, PowerPoint lecture slides, and homework and exam questions, reference materials to illustrate concepts covered, and 'self test' problems to illustrate the use of key concepts and analytic techniques.

Each chapter also includes discussion questions, class exercises, end of chapter review questions, and key vocabulary to provide students with a range of further tools to apply research principles to practical situations.

Spis treści

Section 1. The Purpose and Value of Evaluation and Analytic Skills and their Use in Evidence in Decision-making  1. Introduction: What is Research?  2. Evidence-based Practice for Public Affairs  3. The Research Process: An Introduction to Key Concepts  4. Conducting Preliminary Research  Section 2. The Basic Operations of Research: Setting Up a Project, Gathering Data  5. Research Design  6. Measurement  7. Population Sampling  8. Case Studies  9. Interviews  10. Field Research  11. Survey Data  Section 3. Estimating How the World Works: Testing Claims and Drawing Inferences  12. Coding and Data Display  13. Descriptive Statistics  14. Introduction to Probability and Distributions  15. Hypothesis Testing  16. Measures of Association  Section 4. Advanced Quantitative Techniques and Applied Decision Tools  17. Simple Linear Regression  18. Multiple Least Squares Regression Analysis  19. Applied Decision Tools  20. Mixing Research Methods  Section 5. Managing Project, Completing Projects  21. Managing Research and Evaluation Projects  22. Presenting Research: Writing and Speaking in Policy and Management Settings  23. Conclusion: Bringing It All Together  Appendix