Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Method Approaches
464 pages
17 hours of reading
Focusing on an engaging and accessible approach, this third edition equips students with essential research skills in political science. It emphasizes understanding the purpose and methodology of research while presenting statistical methods in a conversational tone to alleviate anxiety around mathematics. Classroom-tested and highly readable, the text aims to foster confidence and competence in conducting research.
This book comprehensively explores the many different forms of collaboration in government, both formal and informal, including strategic alliances, intergovernmental networks, and public-private partnerships. Contemporary US governmental and public organizations are changing to better cope after several decades of pressures to downsize, as well as to deliver new services with declining resources and, in many cases, decaying infrastructure. To meet these challenges, public managers are developing new networks, partnerships, collaborations, alliances and coalitions to deliver government services. Collaboration in Government is designed to help public organizations parse the new and emerging forms of public partnerships and to develop the skills needed to manage them. Each chapter offers examples of how each type has been used in real public organizations, providing the reader with an understanding of how these partnerships may be applied in a variety of contexts, as well as lessons that may be gleaned from the successes (and failures) of these collaborative models. This book will be of interest to public servants who collaborate in their daily work, as well as students of public administration and public policy.