Handbook of Research Methods in Public Administration, Management and Policy

This Handbook comprehensively explores research methods in public administration, management and policy. Exploring the richness of both traditional and contemporary methods and strategies for making progress in the field, it provides an advanced toolkit for understanding the science of public administration and management in the 21st century.Bringing together leading international academics and experts, contributors focus on innovative research architectures, useful research techniques and best practices for the study of modern bureaucracy and the behaviour of its agents and stakeholders. Chapters look for new frontiers of the discipline with quantitative and qualitative tools and explore empirical studies to support theoretical insights. Each chapter of the Handbook provides specific examples of how these methods are used, enabling a practical understanding of a variety of intellectual paths and techniques for improving the study of modern governance. Comprehensive and enlightening, this Handbook will be essential for academics of public policy and administration looking to enhance their research methods, as well as students learning the basics of research in this field. It will also benefit government experts, civil servants and policymakers who need to better understand how the public sector can benefit from public administration methodologies.

Table of Contents:
Contents: 1 Towards a new age of research methods in public administration, public management and public policy 1 Eran Vigoda-Gadot and Dana R. Vashdi PART I QUANTITATIVE AND MIXED METHODS 2 Analysing relationships between multiple variables: applications for public administration, policy and management 13 Dana R. Vashdi and Eran Vigoda-Gadot 3 Mixed methods in public administration: advantages and challenges 28 Paolo Belardinelli and Valentina Mele 4 Agent-based modeling as a tool for public management research 42 Fabian Homberg, Davide Secchi and Dinuka B. Herath 5 Hybridizing agent-based with system dynamics models: principles for theory development in public policy and management research 63 Lisa Christen Gajary 6 Measurement of public values that do not involve money 88 Jonathan Baron 7 Theory building in public administration: utilizing factor analysis in the development of analytical constructs 107 Kalu N. Kalu 8 The use of difference-in-differences (DiD) in public administration research 127 Yaniv Reingewertz PART II QUALITATIVE AND COMPARATIVE METHODS 9 Qualitative research approaches: application in a UK public administration context 139 Ruth Plume, Alan Page and Hemda Garelick 10 Comparative methods A: exploring big comparative questions in public administration 161 Evan Berman and Don-Yun Chen 11 Comparative methods B: comparative methods in public administration – the value of looking around 181 Sabine Kuhlmann and Markus Seyfried 12 Comparative methods C: building a cross-national research project 197 Mary E. Guy and Seung-Bum Yang PART III EXPERIMENTAL METHODS 13 Experimental methods A: survey experiments in public administration 218 B. Guy Peters and João V. Guedes-Neto 14 Experimental methods B: laboratory experiments 234 Robin Bouwman PART IV PROGRAM EVALUATION, POLICY AND NETWORK ANALYSIS 15 Program evaluation A: program evaluation in action – traditional and innovative approaches 254 Huey T. Chen 16 Program evaluation B: evaluation, big data, and artificial intelligence: two sides of one coin 277 Frans L. Leeuw 17 Policy analysis: evaluating big stories 298 Shlomo Mizrahi 18 Introduction to social network analysis methods 314 Pamela A. Mischen PART V BIG DATA AND ADVANCED METHODS 19 Advanced methods and big data 337 Donald F. Kettl 20 Dealing with open data: measuring the performance of public higher education institutions using open government data 353 Vanessa Hernandes Oliveira de Oliveira and Róberson Macedo de Oliveira PART VI ETHICS, OUTLIERS AND REPORTING 21 Ethical considerations in public administration research 365 Richard. W. Schwester 22 Finding gold in the dross: outliers as a resource for policy analysis 377 Anat Gofen and David L. Weimer 23 Constructive ending: how to finalize the conclusion and discussion of a research project and a journal article 395 Alexey G. Barabashev Index 411