Research Methods for Public Administrators

Research Methods for Public Administrators contains a thorough overview of research methods and statistical applications for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, and practitioners. The material is based on established social science methods. Concepts and applications are discussed and illustrated with examples from actual research. The book covers research design, methods of data collection, instructions on formulating research plans, measurement, sampling procedures, and statistical applications from basic statistics to more advance techniques. The basics of conducting experiments, survey research, case studies, and focus groups are discussed. Data organization, management, and analysis are also covered, as are data analysis and hypothesis testing. Descriptive and inferential statistics are discussed and illustrated with examples. The book also includes a chapter on obtaining and analyzing secondary data (data already collected for other purposes) and a chapter on reporting and presenting research results to a variety of audiences. This is a general textbook written primarily for students of public administration and practitioners in public and not-for-profit organizations. It includes materials shown to be useful in gathering and assessing information for making decisions and implementing policies. The material is discussed at a level to be accessible and with enough detail to be useful. New to the seventh edition: Additional and expanded material on qualitative research, big data, metadata, literature reviews, and causal inference New material on experiments and experimental research New examples and case studies, including those dealing with public policy Expanded material on using computers for data management Information on new NSF and NIH ethics and protection of human subjects requirements for researchers New data sets and Power Point slides for each chapter.

Table of Contents:
1. Beginning a Research Project 2. Research Designs for Description 3. Research Designs for Explanation 4. Measuring Variables 5. Sampling 6. Contacting and Talking to Subjects 7. Collecting Data with Questions and Questionnaires 8. Protection of Human Research Subjects and Other Ethical Issues 9. Finding and Analyzing Existing Data 10. Combining Indicators and Constructing Indices 11. Univariate Analysis 12. Examining Relationships Between Variables with Tests of Statistical Significance 13. Examining Relationships Between Nominal and Ordinal Variables: Contingency Tables, Measures of Association and Control Variables 14. Regression Analysis and Correlation 15. Completing the Project and Communicating Findings