Quantitative Methods for Public Administration: Techniques and Applications

by Susan Welch, John Comer

A comprehensive yet simple introduction to quantitative methods for the policy analyst and the public manager! Intended for students as well as practitioners in public administration, public policy, and various social sciences, this concise volume offers thorough coverage of both research methods and statistics as they relate to problems that typically exist within public agencies. Exercises and relevant examples are included to help readers understand the concepts presented in each chapter, and Research in Practice sections feature summaries of actual research projects that illustrate how the techniques discussed have been applied by researchers. While not meant to serve as a complete statistics text, the authors introduce a variety of methods and statistics managers will find useful. Those who complete the book will be able to compute statistics involving one or two variables, be able to interpret some of the more commonly used multivariate statistics, and have the ability to converse knowledgeably with researchers about problems encountered in the research process.

362 pages, Paperback

First published September 25, 2006

Reviews

[Amanda J · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd rate it higher if it wasn't a statistics book.

There were a few errors in this edition, which I suppose they fixed for later editions. We did use an old and outdated version (Third Edition), which covered the differences between PCs and Laptops, in a bit of comical archaism. Overall, it's a digestible book that covers a lot of different content within statistics, and is perfect for public administration students.