Contents
List of illustrations ix
Acknowledgements xi
1.Research in public administration
1.1 The unique features of research in Public Administration 1
1.2 Research in Public Administration and policy 5
1.3 Aim and outline of the rest of the book 10
2 The research problem 12
2.1 Choosing and formulating a research problem 12
2.2 The research aim 15
2.3 The research question 17
3 Theoretical framework 24
3.1 1 The empirical cycle 24
3.2 What is theory? 28
3.3 Philosophies of science 31
3.4 The role of theory in Public Administration research 36
4 Operationalization 43
4. 1 Operationalization in three steps 43
4.2 Sampling 45
4.3 Reliability and validity 48
4.4 Validity and reliability: sources of interference 51
5 Research design 54
5. 1 The different elements of the research design 54
5.2 Choosing a research strategy, method and technique 57
6 The experiment 61
6.1 The classic experiment 61
6.2 Simulations and gaming 64
6.3 The field experiment 67
6.4 Reliability and validity in experiments 68
6.5 Observation 70
7 The survey
7.1 The survey: characteristics and types 74
7.2 The written questionnaire 75
7.3 The reliability and validity of questionnaires 82
8 The case study
8.1 1 Case study research 86
8.2 The selection of cases 89
8.3 The reliability and validity of case studies 92
8.4 The interview 93
9 Desk research
9.1 1 Using or re-using existing data 102
9.2 Three methods for gathering and analysing existing data 107
10 Analysing quantitative data
10.1 Quantitative data 118
10.2 Collecting and ordering the data 119
10.3 Analysis 126
10.4 Descriptive statistics 127
10.5 Inferential statistics 128
10.6 Reliability and validity when analysing quantitative data 135
11 Analysing qualitative data
11.1 Qualitative data 138
11.2 Collecting and ordering the data 142
11.3 Analysing the data 143
11.4 The reliability and validity of qualitative data analysis 150
12 Reporting results 153
12.1 Forums 153
12.2 Reporting formats 155
12.3 The purpose of reporting research results 158
12.4 Writing down the results 159
12.5 Prescription 164
Bibliography 169
Glossary 175
Index 190



169
175
190


•viii


















74




86






102




118









138


12 Reporting results 153
12.1 Forums 153
12.2 Reporting formats 155
12.3 The purpose of reporting research results 158
12.4 Writing down the results 159
12.5 Prescription 164

Bibliography Glossary Index



169
175
190