Applied Policy Research
Concepts and Cases
J. Fred Springer, Peter J. Haas, Allan Porowski
- 468 Seiten
- English
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Applied Policy Research
Concepts and Cases
J. Fred Springer, Peter J. Haas, Allan Porowski
Ăber dieses Buch
Where many textbooks on policy research focus on methodological and statistical theories, leaving students to wonder how they will apply those theories to future policy positions, this innovative textbook takes theories of policy research and puts them into practice, demystifying the subject by translating it into real-world situations in which students can actively engage. 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 walks students through an examination of case studies to demonstrate how these theories play out in real policy situations. New to this edition:
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- A rewritten Part I that includes several new chapters incorporating the latest developments in applicable policy research design, implementation, and products to provide a framework for conducting policy research.
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- A matrix at the start of Part II to easily identify how each of the fifteen case-study chapters correspond with concepts and topics presented in Part I, showing the reader where to look for a specific real-life example of a given topic or concept. Each case is drawn from real instances of policy research to provide students with an opportunity to consider and learn how to grapple with the challenges posed by the needs of public programs and agencies. Cases include local, state, and nonprofit agencies as well as federal-state-local intergovernmental "hybrids."
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- Each chapter is presented in a uniform format: (1) a detailed description of a policy research problem; (2) a discussion of the unique challenges posed by the problem; (3) a description of the policy research techniques used; (4) a summary of the outcomes or conclusions associated with the research as it was conducted; and (5) conclusions about the implications or lessons for policy research.
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. Applied Policy Research, Second Edition will be essential reading in all policy research courses with a focus on practical outcomes and student preparation for public service.
HĂ€ufig gestellte Fragen
Information
Part I
Principles of Policy Research
1 Introduction to Policy Research
- What is policy research? We will discuss how policy research differs from other social research and introduce common terms used to describe policy research.
- How is policy research conducted? We will discuss basic procedures and methods that are used in policy research.
- Who does policy research? We will discuss the kinds of jobs that policy researchers hold and the kinds of skills their work requires.
- Why do policy research? We will discuss the purposes, mandates, and incentives that motivate policy researchers.
- Does policy research improve public decision making? We will discuss who uses policy research, why it is used, and how it may help.
What Is Policy Research?
- Agenda Setting: Before a policy can be formed, the problem that is to be addressed by the policy must be defined and balanced against other competing priorities. Policy research can be conducted at this stage to assess the severity of the problem to be addressed, to assess which competing policy issue needs to be addressed first, or even to establish whether the problem exists in the first place.
- Policy Formulation: Before policies are passed, they must be formulated to address the problem in question. Policy researchers may do comparative research to assess the different costs and effects of each policy alternative (policy analysis) or research the key components of the policy to ensure that it is specified and will be implemented with fidelity.
- Decision Making: The actual passage of a policy may be guided by policy researchâor it may not. While decision making is traditionally a political process, policy researchers may be drawn in to testify on pending legislation or help guide a bureaucratic process. The decision not to enact a policy can be considered policy making as well.
- Implementation: Once a policy is agreed on, there are a multitude of opportunities for policy research to assess how well it is being put into action. These implementation studies may assess how closely the policy as enacted conforms to policy intentions, examine how efficiently it is being put into action, or monitor performance benchmarks, such as the number of clients served.
- Evaluation: Using scientific methods to determine whether policies or programs actually produce their intended effects is a common type of policy research (Rossi et al., 2004). Evaluation takes many forms and is often required when policies are put into effect. Policy or program evaluation can assess short-term outcomes of a program, such as determining whether a new preschool program results in stronger reading readiness. It can also assess the long-term impacts of a policyâfor example, whether the preschool program results in better reading performance among students in grades Kâ12. It can also assess the balance of costs and benefits of some programs. For example, the evaluation of a new business tax incentive can involve the calculation of its total economic benefit and comparing that figure to the total cost of public investment in the incentive.
- Policy research is problem driven (Birkland, 2015, referring to the work of Peter May). In other words, policy research is initiated by real-world problems that need to be solved.
- Policy research is designed to produce actionable results (Hakim, 2000). Because policy research is expected to help solve real-world problems, the information it produces must have clear implications for what can be doneâit must be âactionable.â Policy researchers do not make policy decisions. They do provide information that elected officials and public personnel can consider along with other inputs and considerations (e.g., politics, cost, feasibility, credibility of the research, effects of alternative strategies). This role in the decision-making process makes policy research particularly excitingâand complex.
How Is Policy Research Conducted?
- Experimental research: Experimental research is a long-standing pillar of scientific rigor in policy research. Experimental designs require random assignment of individuals or groups (e.g., classrooms) to either receive services or benefits enacted by a policy (the treatment group) or to not receive the intervention (the control group). By comparing data on subjects randomly assigned to the treatment or to the control group before and after the treatment is received, policy researchers can provide strong evidence on whether the intervention had an effect. This rigorous research method provides a model for determining whether policies or programs produce their intended impacts.
- Quasi-experimental research. By requiring the random assignment of the intervention, the experimental model clearly requires more control of the study setting than can be achieved in most policy settings. Quasi-experiments overcome ethical, legal, and logistic barriers to randomizing people by forming a comparison group similar to the treatment group. Comparison groups can be developed prior to the start of the study in a number of ways not requiring randomization, including recruiting clients on a wait list, selecting students in a similar school, or matching persons on demographic or other characteristics of treatment group members. The point of both experimental and quasi-experimental methods is to establish a comparison group to ascertain what would have happened in the absence of the intervention and compare that result with the outcomes of those who received an intervention. Quasi-experimental designs are far more common in policy research than experimental methods because they allow for adaptation of experimental logic to the realities of conducting studies in the real world of policy making and implementation.
- Rapid-cycle evaluation: To be useful in the rapidly changing world of policy setting and revision, information must be available when decisions need to be made. Rapid-cycle evaluation is a framework for conducting a rapid sequence of experimental or quasi-experimental research that tests whether operational changes improve results (Gold, Helms, and Guterman, 2011). Unlike traditional experimental and quasi-experimental studies, rapid-cycle evaluations typically take months rather than years to complete, and they tend to focus on incremental changes in operations instead of measuring the effects of entire programs. These rapid-cycle evaluation methods are gaining in popularity, since they get answers into policy makersâ hands much more quickly, which in turn increases the likelihood that the research will influence decisions.
- Nonexperimental research: Nonexperimental methods involve gathering information on intended policy effects before, during, and/or after an intervention from a single group of participants with no comparison group. Though this type of research is considered to be less scientifically rigorous than experimental or quasi-experimental research, it is still often used and can produce actionable information. This is especially true when quantitative (numeric) data is combined with qualitative (nonnumeric) information gathered in the field to help stakeholders understand why or how a policy or program hasâor does not haveâdesired effects.
- Secondary data analysis: Using data already collected by programs or regularly collected for other purposes (e.g., surveys conducted to measure unemployment), policy researchers can assess changes in outcomes over time. These secondary data analyses can sometimes support quasi-experimental policy research (e.g., matching program participants to available data on nonparticipants before an intervention started and following their outcomes over time), or these analyses can be nonexperimental (e.g., drawing upon program records to assess trends among program participants only).
- Survey research: Policy researchers may survey beneficiaries of a program to determine whether the program had the intended outcomes. Surveys are popular and relevant because they can be tailored to nearly any situation. They provide direct answers to a variety of questions about how policy impacts individuals (e.g., âcustomer satisfactionâ questions to determine how programs can better serve the public). This ability to get information straight from the source makes survey research widely used among policy researchers.
- Systematic reviews: Policies are much more defensible if they are grounded in evidence-based research. Policy researchers may review evidence across multiple studies to identify whether compelling evidence exists for the adoption of a program, policy, or practice. Meta-analysis is a commonly used statistical technique for combining findings across multiple studies. In recent years, many systematic reviews and repositories of evidence have been sponsored by both federal and private organizations, including the U.S. Department of Educationâs What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), the U.S. Department of Laborâs Clearinghouse for Labor Evaluation and Research (CLEAR), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Servicesâ National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP).
- Site visits: When trying to understand the inner workings of a program or a policy, there is no substitute for seeing it in action. Site visits to interview the âfront linesâ of staff involved in service provision are nearly always enlightening experiences. âAmbient observation,â a fancy term for getting the feel of a place, can contribute significantly to the policy researcherâs understanding of how and why a program is shaped by its context. Whereas quantitative research can be useful for measuring the magnitude of a program or policyâs effect, site visits add important information for understanding how, why, and in what situations effects are being produced.
- Implementation studies: The field of implementation science is growing rapidly, and it is often coupled with experimental, quasi-experimental, and qualitative research to determine both whether the program being evaluated was implemented with fidelity (i.e., as intended), and what core components of the program are most important for achieving intended outcomes. Early implementation science focused on programs, but it is increasingly being applied to achieving systemic policy objectives such as integrating services and collaborating across agencies.
- Cost-benefit or cost-effectiveness analyses: A logical focus of policy research is to determine the âbang for the buckâ that a certain policy or program will have. Whereas cost-benefit analysis focuses on the economic benefit of a program by quantifying the dollar value of all costs and benefits, cost-effectiveness analysis compares the costs of a program with the raw outcomes produced (e.g., cost per life saved). The difference between cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis, then, lies in how benefits are...