Research Methods for Public Administration: Practical Uses for Better Decision-Making is an extension of the very popular ICMA book Statistics for Public Administration.
It remains a book primarily focused on research design and basic applied statistics. This third edition expands on those prior editions with new material on gathering data and conducting analyses with qualitative data, such as interviews and focus groups. However, its primary purpose is not to help public managers master statistical theory;
rather, its purpose is to demonstrate how statistics can help public managers do their
jobs better. The overall goal of this book is to make public administrators educated
consumers of information.
This publication will not train you in how to use statistical software or mathematical calculations. And it will not give you a specific road
map on how to answer a specific question—no book will do that—because that is not
how actual life, or management, works. Theory is just theory, not necessarily reality.
You must figure out what data you need to figure out a problem you face—and then
gather those data. You will learn how to use statistics only if you need to use them.
Again, the goal of this book is to ensure local government officials understand how
data analysis can help them in their day-to-day jobs—and, especially, help them to be
educated consumers of information.
This publication is available only in digital format at this time.
