What Works is a concise methods text that represents a new approach for policy program analysis. The authors, Meier and Gill, combine statistics with normative concerns. They consider how things might be, and they focus on subsets of cases that differ from the norm. Their approach uses regression and methods in a qualitative, yet rigorous manner.In

"What Works" is a concise methods text that represents a new approach for policy program analysis. The authors, Meier and Gill, combine statistics with normative concerns. They consider how things might be, and they focus on subsets of cases that differ from the norm. Their approach uses regression and methods in a qualitative, yet rigorous manner.In "What Works," the authors address questions such as the following: why do some agencies learn to perform missions faster than others? What factors influence this learning? In which states do criminal justice policies based on deterrence work? What do excellent school districts do differently from those that are simply better than average? Why do some firms comply with public policy quickly while others wait?The case examples the authors employ and evaluate are especially helpful. "What Works" will appeal to anyone seriously interested in policy analysis, and in learning about--and understanding--new approaches for policy program analysis.

As the first book ever published for public administration statistics courses, APPLIED STATISTICS FOR PUBLIC AND NONPROFIT ADMINISTRATION makes a difficult subject accessible to students and practitioners of public administration and to non-profit studies who have little background in statistics or research methods. Steeped in experience and practice, this landmark text remains the first and best in research methods and statistics for students and practitioners in public-and nonprofit-administration. All statistical techniques used by public administration professionals are covered, and all examples in the text relate to public administration and the nonprofit sector. Avoiding jargon and formula, this text uses a step-by-step approach that facilitates student learning.

Issues of race permeate virtually every corner of policy creation and implementation in the United States, yet theoretically driven research on interactions of policy, race, and ethnicity rarely offers practical tools that can be readily applied by current and future civil servants, private contractors, or nonprofit boards. Arguing that scholarship can and should inform practice to address issues of equity in public affairs, rather than overlook, ignore, or deny them, Race and Public Administration offers a much-needed and accessible exploration of current and cutting-edge research on race and policy. This book evaluates what contradictions, unanswered questions, and best (or worst) practices exist in conducting and understanding research that can provide evidence-based policy and management guidance to practitioners in the field. Individual chapters are written by established and emerging scholars and explore a wide range of policy areas, including public education, policing, health and access to healthcare, digital governance, nonprofit diversity, and international contexts. Together, the chapters serve as a link between theoretically informed research in public administration and those students and professionals trained to work in the trenches of public administration. This book is ideally suited as a text for courses in schools of public administration, public policy, or nonprofit management, and is required reading for those actively involved in policy analysis, creation, or evaluation.

The Wit & Humor of Political Science is the serendipitous product of two seniorpolitical science scholars working across the world from one another and who independently collected funny and satirical articles on political science over the years with the intent of someday publishing them for a wider audience.From the editors: This volume collects what in our opinions are the wittiest and funniest pieces about political science and political scientists. We are confident that even a small investment of the reader's time will be sufficient to disprove Baker's slur on our discipline. Like all good humor, much of the work we have chosen for inclusion has a serious point. It helps scholars keep an open and skeptical mind, it picks out our weak points in theory and methods, points out how research may be going wrong, and it pricks the balloon of bombast, pretentiousness, and jargon. And, not only that, it's fun... Its contents make essential reading for all political scientists, even the most senior, but it may be enjoyed by younger scholars, especially those without tenure (or worse yet, without a job), by other social scientists, and even-gasp-by readers unaffiliated with any academic discipline.

The Wit & Humour of Political Science is the serendipitous product of two senior scholars working across the world from one another and who independently collected funny and satirical articles on political science over the years with the intent of someday publishing them for a wider audience. The lead editors- Kenneth Newton (Professor Emeritus, University of Southampton, Visiting Professor, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin, and Hertie School of Governance, Berlin) and the late Lee Sigelman (Columbian School of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of Political Science, George Washington University) - learned by chance of each other's projects. Newton and Sigelman joined forces with Kenneth Meier (Charles H. Gregory Chair in Liberal Arts and Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Texas A&M University) and Bernard Grofman (Jack W. Peltason (Bren Foundation) Endowed Chair in the Department of Political Science, University of California, Irvine) to publish this collection under the joint imprint of APSA and ECPR. The collection includes previously published essays as well as original pieces never formally published. From the editors: This volume collects what in our opinions are the wittiest and funniest pieces about political science and political scientists. Like all good humour, much of the work we have chosen for inclusion has a serious point. It helps scholars keep an open and skeptical mind, it picks out our weak points in theory and methods, points out how research may be going wrong, and it pricks the balloon of bombast, pretentiousness, and jargon. And, not only that, it's fun...Its contents make essential reading for all political scientists, even the most senior, but it may be enjoyed by younger scholars, especially those without tenure (or worse yet, without a job), by other social scientists, and even-gasp-by readers unaffiliated with any academic discipline.