GOV 603: Research Methods for Public Administration
GOV 603: Research Methods for Public Administration
Directions for Research Design Discussion Post #2
Research is an iterative process that requires patience, perseverance, and humility. Research is also an active “contact” sport that involves the application of learning tools. As we cannot learn to run by reading, we must exercise our muscles and hit the “track” or road. Research also requires much grace as it is a trial-and-error process with many opportunities for mistakes. Like our Christian walk, we grow in character and faith when we endure and learn from the valley experiences.
This exercise is linked to the final research design project. It also provides opportunities to practice and reinforce the lectures on research design and survey methodology as you develop the various components of the group project.
Your tasks:
1. One-page introduction to your research design topic.
2. Topic: Social Media and Public Engagement: Evaluate how public agencies use social media to engage citizens and the implications for transparency and accountability.
3. A two-page literature review that includes:
a. Conduct a literature review to develop a theoretical framework and testable hypotheses. Explain how your research question fits into what researchers already know about the topic. Discuss what researchers have already discovered about the empirical relationship. Present the major debates in the field about the issue, citing relevant literature you will encounter throughout this semester. Describe the relationships between independent and dependent variables, how these variables are conceptualized and measured, and critiques put forth by existing theories. Here is where you situate your research question within the current literature. You need to clarify if your research has been done before and what your contribution to the existing debates and knowledge base will be. Be sure to indicate the conventional wisdom on this topic. Does your proposed research build upon or attempt to refute a particular finding within the literature? What gaps in the existing literature will your study address? This draft literature review should be two pages and include 10 sources, at least six of which must be from peer-reviewed academic journals.
You may provide annotated bibliographies of additional sources that will be incorporated into the fully developed literature review.
All references in the body of the paper and the bibliography must be in American Psychological Association (APA) format. Below are examples of peer-reviewed journals frequently used in Public Administration, Policy, and Nonprofit Management student case studies. The list of peer-reviewed journal articles for other areas will differ. The professor will determine the appropriateness of your literature review. The remaining references can be from trade publications, agency reports/studies, think tanks, newspaper articles, etc. Please do not cite Wikipedia!
Academy of Management Journal/Review
Administration & Society
American Review of Public Administration
American Political Thought
Compensation & Benefits Review
Industrial & Labor Relations Review
Journal of Management
Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology
Journal of Organizational Behavior
Journal of Public Administration Research & Theory
Journal of Public Affairs Education
Journal of Public & Nonprofit Affairs
Journal of Nonprofit Management & Leadership
Journal of Military Ethics
Organization Science
Management Review
Organizational Dynamics
Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes
Organization Studies
Personnel Journal
Public Administration Quarterly
Public Administration Review
Public Personnel Management
Public Productivity and Management Review
Political Theory
Review of Politics
Religion and Politics
Review of Public Personnel Administration
Training and Development
International Journal of Public Administration
Ethics and International Affairs
b. A conceptual framework (schematic model) based upon your literature review – see the example below on page 2.
c. Based on the literature review and conceptual framework, state a testable hypothesis for your research as an “if-then” statement – for example “Women who participate in a micro-lending program will be more likely to start businesses than women who do not.”
Model (conceptual framework) Building Tips
1. Your model or conceptual framework is the “blueprint” that describes the hypothesized cause-and-effect relationships between the independent and dependent variables. The sources of information for developing a model include:
a. The literature review presents the research literature to develop a “best practice” set of elements.
b. Interviewing key informants (managers, employees, or other subject matter experts) to describe how a program works
c. Your own experience and understanding of cause-and-effect relations
2. The model serves as the basis for developing your survey questionnaire and interview questions. For example, if you are studying the effects of a performance appraisal system on employee motivation, you would first develop a model of the essential design elements for an effective system through a review of the published literature. That would include three factors: 1) employee participation through self-appraisal and jointly developing performance goals/standards, 2) specific, behavioral, frequent, and timely performance feedback, and 3) the presence of specific, time-bound, and challenging goals. There are many other factors, but for illustration’s sake, we will assume that these are the most important ones. In your model, you will want to include moderator (or control) variables that influence the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Typical moderator variables include demographic characteristics (race, gender, age) and job experience. In this case, the research literature indicates that job experience influences how employees respond to participation. Less experienced employees require more structure and feedback and therefore are more comfortable with lower levels of participation in comparison to experienced employees. This type of reasoning is called group or subgroup analysis.
Simplified Model (Conceptual Framework) of the Elements of an Effective Performance Appraisal System
3. The next step is to develop survey items that measure the independent, moderator, and dependent variables. For instance, the above-simplified model requires developing a survey of 12 items, one for each element in the model. You will complete the survey design in Discussion Post #3
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