Conference Papers

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We have all taken a combination of research courses on our way to the MPA: statistics, research methods, quantitative techniques, policy analysis, and/or program evaluation. It is known that contemporary demands require Public Administration practitioners to measure results. This requires the ability to gather and analyze data from a variety of sources using a variety of methods. But are we teaching the right stuff? In order to design research courses for the 21st century, it might be useful to examine a number of issues: 

1. Does the content of research courses in public administration meet the
pragmatic needs of today's managers?
2. What kinds of research is being done in public agencies?
3. What kind of knowledge, skills and abilities do MPAs need? 
4. What kind of research skills do managers look for when they hire MPAs?

An exploratory, qualitative study of practitioners in an urban area explored these issues. This paper highlights the major findings and offers some tentative conclusions.

William Sawyer Grant Ph.D. Candidate
Old Dominion University
College of Business and Public Administration
Norfolk Virginia 23529
bgrant@pinn.net

Gail Johnson Ph.D.
Old Dominion University
College of Business and Public Administration
Norfolk Virginia 23529
Johnsong@visi.net

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Copyright on these papers is held by their authors or by the professional society which sponsored their original presentation.

Teaching Politics is published by William J. Ball (ball@tcnj.edu)