Methods for Policy Research
Methods for Policy Research

Author: Ann Majchrzak

Publisher: SAGE Publications

Published: 2013-05-17

Total Pages: 185

ISBN-13: 1483315932

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This book about responsible and evidence-based decision making is written for those interested in improving the decisions that affect people’s lives. It describes how to define policy research questions so that evidence can be applied to them, how to find and synthesize existing evidence, how to generate new evidence if needed, how to make acceptable recommendations that can solve policy problems without negative side effects, and how to describe evidence and recommendations in a manner that changes minds. Policies are not just the decisions made by a country’s rulers or elected officials; policies are also set by corporate executives, managers of department stores, and project leaders in non-profit organizations pursuing environmental protection. The authors’ suggestion are based on the fundamental belief that evidence-based decision making is superior to decisions based purely on opinion, intuition, and emotion. Because much has happened since 1984 when the first edition was published, this is a substantially different book with a new co-author, new and updated examples, new chapters, and new frameworks for understanding.

Methods for Policy Research
Methods for Policy Research

Author: Ann Majchrzak

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 1984-09

Total Pages: 116

ISBN-13: 9780803920606

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The analysis of policies with a view to changing them is the subject of this book. Written by an expert on policy research, it shows ways of presenting alternatives to policy-makers with the emphasis on communicating the value and applicability of the research that backs up the policy options. The author employs a pragmatic approach that deals with real world issues, and which presents the processes involved in a step-by-step manner.

Mixed Methods for Policy Research and Program Evaluation
Mixed Methods for Policy Research and Program Evaluation

Author: Patricia Burch

Publisher: SAGE Publications

Published: 2015-02-18

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 1483313077

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Mixed Methods for Policy Research and Program Evaluation by Patricia Burch and Carolyn J. Heinrich equips students, researchers, and policymakers in the social sciences with the tools they need for applying mixed methods in policy research and program evaluation, from design, through data collection, and dissemination. Emphasizing the “how-to”—the set of conceptual and active tasks carried out by mixed methods researchers—the book is illustrated with rich case studies from the authors’ own research projects in education and public policy. These examples help readers identify and explain policy and program impacts and better understand the “why” and “how” of observed effects. Throughout the book, the authors describe challenges that both beginners and advanced scholars are likely to encounter when doing mixed methods research and recommend practical tools available to address them.

The Palgrave Handbook of Methods for Media Policy Research
The Palgrave Handbook of Methods for Media Policy Research

Author: Hilde Van den Bulck

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2019-08-13

Total Pages: 676

ISBN-13: 3030160653

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The Palgrave Handbook of Methods for Media Policy Research covers the craft that is and the methods used in media and communication policy research. It discusses the steps involved in conducting research, from deciding on a topic, to writing a report and everything in between and, furthermore, deals with a wide variety of qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis. The handbook invites researchers to rediscover trusted methods such as document analysis, elite interviews and comparisons, as well as to familiarize themselves with newer methods like experiments, big data and network analysis. For each method, the handbook provides a practical step-by-step guide and case studies that help readers in using that method in their own research. The methods discussed are useful for all areas of media and communication policy research, for research concerning the governance of both mass media and online platforms, and for policy issues around the globe. As such, the handbook is an invaluable guide to every researcher in this field.

Innovative Comparative Methods for Policy Analysis
Innovative Comparative Methods for Policy Analysis

Author: Benoit Rihoux

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2006-03-20

Total Pages: 347

ISBN-13: 0387288295

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Innovative Comparative Methods for Policy Analysis aims to provide a decisive push to the further development and application of innovative and specific comparative methods for the improvement of policy analysis. To take on this challenge, this volume brings together methodologists and specialists from a broad range of social scientific disciplines and policy fields. The work further develops methods for systematic comparative cases analysis in a small-N research design, with a key emphasis laid on policy-oriented applications. Innovative Comparative Methods for Policy Analysis is clearly both a social scientific and policy-driven endeavor; on the one hand, the book engages in an effort to further improve social scientific methods, but on the other hand this effort also intends to provide useful, applied tools for policy analysts and the "policy community" alike. Though quite a variety of methods and techniques are touched upon in this volume, its focus is mainly laid on two recently developed research methods/techniques which enable researchers to systematically compare a limited number of cases; Qualitative Comparative Analysis(QCA) and Fuzzy-Sets (FS).

Applied Policy Research
Applied Policy Research

Author: J. Fred Springer

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2017-06-26

Total Pages: 491

ISBN-13: 1135215413

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Beginning with an orientation and overview of policy research, outlining the processes of policy analysis and evaluation from start to finish, Applied Policy Research, 2e then walks students through an examination of case studies to demonstrate how these theories play out in real policy situations. Illustrative figures help students understand the stages of policy research, and end-of-chapter tools such as discussion questions, assignments and activities, and case studies ‘at a glance’ help students master not only the particulars of each case but the broader skills needed in future research. This book will be essential reading in all policy research courses with a focus on practical outcomes and student preparation for public service.

The SAGE Handbook of Research Methods in Political Science and International Relations
The SAGE Handbook of Research Methods in Political Science and International Relations

Author: Luigi Curini

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 2020-04-09

Total Pages: 1941

ISBN-13: 1526486393

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The SAGE Handbook of Research Methods in Political Science and International Relations offers a comprehensive overview of research processes in social science — from the ideation and design of research projects, through the construction of theoretical arguments, to conceptualization, measurement, & data collection, and quantitative & qualitative empirical analysis — exposited through 65 major new contributions from leading international methodologists. Each chapter surveys, builds upon, and extends the modern state of the art in its area. Following through its six-part organization, undergraduate and graduate students, researchers and practicing academics will be guided through the design, methods, and analysis of issues in Political Science and International Relations: Part One: Formulating Good Research Questions & Designing Good Research Projects Part Two: Methods of Theoretical Argumentation Part Three: Conceptualization & Measurement Part Four: Large-Scale Data Collection & Representation Methods Part Five: Quantitative-Empirical Methods Part Six: Qualitative & "Mixed" Methods

Intimate Accounts of Education Policy Research
Intimate Accounts of Education Policy Research

Author: Camilla Addey

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-09-30

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1000452387

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What do we actually do when we research education policy and governance? Why do we tame the messy hinterland of research into smooth accounts and what do we lose in the process? In this volume, distinguished scholars in education policy and governance research discuss how the practice of methods is messy, subjective, and provisional. They approach methodology as riddled with tensions, doubts, troubles, and mundane decisions. Scholarship in this book shifts from recording the methodological hinterland to putting it to productive use as resources for thinking about the researched world and about research itself. This methodological openness helps to examine how research reproduces scholars’ metaphysics, how research is a deeply embodied process encompassing all senses, how scholars’ concerns interfere in the worlds they study, but also how these equally interfere with researchers. By challenging smooth methodological accounts which conceal the complex and provisional nature of research, this book offers new approaches in education policy and governance research that are more generative, insightful, and sincere. Offering new ways of thinking about research methodologies, the book will be of great interest to researchers, academics, and post-graduate students in the fields of education research and education theory, as well as social scientists interested in research methodologies more broadly.

Basic Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning
Basic Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning

Author: Carl Patton

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-08-26

Total Pages: 527

ISBN-13: 1317349997

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Updated in its 3rd edition, Basic Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning presents quickly applied methods for analyzing and resolving planning and policy issues at state, regional, and urban levels. Divided into two parts, Methods which presents quick methods in nine chapters and is organized around the steps in the policy analysis process, and Cases which presents seven policy cases, ranging in degree of complexity, the text provides readers with the resources they need for effective policy planning and analysis. Quantitative and qualitative methods are systematically combined to address policy dilemmas and urban planning problems. Readers and analysts utilizing this text gain comprehensive skills and background needed to impact public policy.

Theory and Methods in Comparative Policy Analysis Studies
Theory and Methods in Comparative Policy Analysis Studies

Author: Iris Geva-May

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-06-09

Total Pages: 578

ISBN-13: 0429806639

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Volume One of the Classics of Comparative Policy Analysis, "Theory and Methods in Comparative Policy Analysis Studies" includes chapters that apply or further theory and methodology in the comparative study of public policy, in general, and policy analysis, in particular. Throughout the volume the chapters engage in theory building by assessing the relevance of theoretical approaches drawn from the social sciences, as well as some which are distinctive to policy analysis. Other chapters focus on various comparative approaches based on developments and challenges in the methodology of policy analysis. Together, this collection provides a comprehensive scholastic foundation to comparative policy analysis and comparative policy studies. "Theory and Methods in Comparative Policy Analysis Studies" will be of great interest to scholars and learners of public policy and social sciences, as well as to practitioners considering what can be learned or facilitated through methodologically and theoretically sound approaches. The chapters were originally published as articles in the Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis which in the last two decades has pioneered the development of comparative public policy. The volume is part of a four-volume series, the Classics of Comparative Policy Analysis including Theories and Methods, Institutions and Governance, Regional Comparisons, and Policy Sectors. Each volume showcases a different new chapter comparing domains of study interrelated with comparative public policy: political science, public administration, governance and policy design, authored by the JCPA co-editors Giliberto Capano, Iris Geva-May, Michael Howlett, Leslie A. Pal and B. Guy Peters.