2nd Edition

Handbook of Research Methods in Public Administration

Edited By Gerald J. Miller, Kaifeng Yang Copyright 2008
    990 Pages 128 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    Describing new techniques and novel applications, Handbook of Research Methods in Public Administration, Second Edition demonstrates the use of tools designed to meet the increased complexity of problems in government and non-profit organizations with ever-more rigorous and systematic research. It presents detailed information on conceptualizing, planning, and implementing research projects involving a wide variety of available methodologies. Providing a reference of systematic research methods, this second edition explains how these techniques aid in understanding traditional issues, and reveals how they might be applied to answer emerging theoretical and practical questions.

    Following a linear, logical organization, this handbook meets systematic goals and objectives through eight groups of chapters. The first group explains the logic of inquiry and the practical problems of locating existing research. The second group deals with research design and the third examines pitfalls in measurement and data collection. The authors give practical, considered advice in the fourth section to anticipate and solve data management problems. They include numerous illustrations to supplement two separate sections devoted to basic and advanced quantitative analysis. The seventh section covers unique analytical techniques used to gain insight specific to the non-market sector’s knotty problems. The final section addresses the impact of research and describes how to overcome illusive, tricky, and sizeable barriers to influence other researchers, decision makers, foundations, and grant making institutions.

    With a comprehensive survey of research methods and an examination of their practical and theoretical application in the past, present, and future, Handbook of Research Methods in Public Administration, Second Edition gives you the tools to make informed decisions.

    Theory-based Public administration inquiry
    The Logic of Inquiry in the Field of Public Administration, N.M. Riccucci
    Theory, H.T. Miller
    Dealing with Multiple Paradigms in Public Administration Research, K. Yang, Y. Zhang, and M. Holzer
    Where Do Research Questions Come From And How Are They Developed? S.J. Yeager
    Writing a Literature Review: The Art of Scientific Literature, D.A. Bearfield and W.S. Eller
    Research design
    Purpose and Significance of Research Design, J.B. Justice
    The Research Problem, Method, and Serendipity: One Investigator's Journey, J.S. Bowman
    Threats to Validity in Research Designs, N.A. Giannatasio
    The Responsible Conduct of Social Research, P. Coontz
    Qualitative Research Methods, V. Gabrielian, K. Yang, and S. Spice
    Comparative Research in Public Administration: A Historical-Institutionalist Perspective, R.S. Kravchuk
    Legal Research Methods, J. Beckett
    Measurement and data collection
    Describing and Measuring Phenomena in Public Administration, L.T. Hu & D. Olshfski
    Sampling and Data Collection, A. Northrop and S. Arsneault
    Using the Survey as an Instrument of Inquiry in Research, S.R. Majumdar
    Questionnaire Construction, D. Robbins
    Collecting Survey Data via Telephone: A Primer, R.W. Schwester
    Obtaining Archival and Other Existing Records, S.J. Piotrowski
    Data management
    General Issues in Data Management, R.K. Chavda
    Constructing Data Sets and Manipulating Data, C. Scavo
    Managing Large-Scale Electronic Data for Public Administration Research: An Information System Approach, Y.C. Chen
    Basic quantitative analysis
    Introduction to Data Analysis, K.Chavda
    Applying Matrix Algebra in Statistical Analysis, S.R. Majumdar
    Univariate Analysis, C. Mo
    Statistics for Nominal and Ordinal Data, M. Margolis
    Analysis of Variance, C. Cirincione
    Linear Correlation and Regression, L.R. Alm and S.G. Mason
    Advanced quantitative analysis
    Multivariate Regression Analysis, E.A. Graddy and L. Wang
    Multivariate Techniques for Dichotomous Dependent Variables: An Application to Public Policy, M.C. Shelley
    Identifying Dimensions and Types in Public Administration Research: Introduction to Principal Component Analysis, Factor Analysis and Other Clustering Techniques, G. Julnes
    Confirmatory Factor Analysis: A Practical Introduction, D.H. Coursey
    Introduction to Panel Data Analysis: Concepts and Practices, T.H. Eom, S.H. Lee, and H. Xu
    Forecasting Methods for Serial Data, D. Williams
    Other techniques
    Data Envelopment Analysis for Performance Assessment and Decision-Making: An Introduction, P. De Lancer Julnes
    Content Analysis, C.C. Bowen and W.M. Bowen
    Meta-Analysis, C.C. Bowen
    Q Methodology, S.R. Brown, D.W. Durning, and S.Selden
    Methods of Network Analysis, S.A. Andrew and R.C. Feiock
    Economic Modeling, R.J. Hy and J.R. Wollscheid
    Grounded Analysis: Going Beyond Description to Derive Theory from Qualitative Data, R. Brower and H.S. Jeong
    Research Methods Using Geographic Information Systems, A. Haque
    Reporting, presentation, and teaching
    Presenting Quantitative Research Results, J.E. Miller
    Styles of Scholarship in Public Administration, K. Farmbry and L. Bennett
    Making the Translation: Strategies for Effective Data Presentation, M. Holzer, K. Kloby, and A. Manoharan
    Influencing the Policy Process and Making Reports Usable to Citizens, K. Callahan
    Applying for Research Grants, N. De Haan

    Biography

    Camille P. Roman, Sondra Brandler, Gerald J. Miller, Kaifeng Yang