PAD 504, Research and the Uses of TechnologyInstructor: Dean Kathleen M. Beatty
Text: O'Sullivan, Elizabeth and Rassell, Gary R. (1995). Research Methods for Public Administrators. Second Edition. White Plains, N.Y.: Longman. Other readings will be placed on reserve in the library.
Course Description: Public and nonprofit administrators deal with research in many different ways. Applied research studies (program evaluation and policy analysis) provide administrators with information to assist them in determining what policies to pursue, what programs to implement, where funds can be saved, where future needs may occur, etc. Basic research studies help administrators consider how their behavior and their organization's characteristics may affect their employees, their constituents, and the political process.
Administators may be involved in conducting research through involvement in requesting and planning such studies or through actual data collection and analysis. Most certainly, they will be involved in research through reading technical reports concerning programs and problems of concern to them. Thus, today a public or nonprofit administrator needs a thorough understanding of the purposes of research and analytic methods, their strengths and weaknesses, their utility and cost so that the administrator can play an effective role in requesting research when needed, directing a research effort to meet information needs, and critically reading and using research to help in policy formulation and implementation.
This course will also introduce students to the uses of technology. We will incorporate technology into our learning through the uses of e-mail and listserves for group discussions, study groups, questions to the instructor, and instructors' feedback to students. We will make use of the Internet and the Web to find information relevant to our research.
This semester students will have the opportunity to take part in research within the setting of the course. Next semester, portions of this course will be offered through a distance education format. In order to give students practice at research and the use of technology and to give the instructor some valuable feedback, we will pilot test some of the exercises to be used in the distance education courses. At various times, you will serve as subjects in the study and as researchers establishing the design and collecting, analyzing and interpreting data. By taking part in a pilot study and seeing the utility of the results, I hope to show you how you can research in your work setting to better inform you of new policies and programs.
Grading Policy: Homework Assignment: 25%