Very, very helpful article on best practices of handling research data and writing transparent and well documented research.
The authors focus on (a) type of research design (b) control variables (c) sampling procedures, and (d) missing data management (e) outlier management (f) use of corrections for statistical and methodological artifacts (g) data transformations
Instead of classical textbook approach, this article gives you a very clear hands-on perspective, with a good portion of examples and references.
Definitely worth a read if you do either quantitative or qualitative empirical research!
Ling Zhu, Christopher Witko, Kenneth J Meier, The Public Administration Manifesto II: Matching Methods to Theory and Substance, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Volume 29, Issue 2, April 2019, Pages 287–298, https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/muy079
I read this article with anticipation and was not let down. The paper is the result of a “methods symposium” “that will appear in this and the next two issues of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory”. It links the articles in this symposium together into a combination of a descriptive “state of the art” and a normative impetus on forking out a path forward. “
The article gave me the “big picture” on use of methods in PA-research – and I will surely return to it as a guide showing me where to go for digging further into methodological questions. If you want a up-to-date vitamin-injection concerning methodological challenges in PA research: look no further.
Four conclusions: 1 Self-reflective use of methods is essential. 2 Methodological pluralism is necessary – challenging the division of qualitative and quantitative approaches 3 Generalizability and replicability are real and vital challenges 4 PA needs a stronger arena for “methodological debates regarding best practices and sophisticated methods in different substantive research areas.”
I will hunt down the main articles referred to in this article, and they will appear in this space in the coming months.
Study in progress 