PAdm 845

PAdm 845: Public Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation

3 Credit Hours

Prerequisite:
PAdm 702: Research Methods in Public Administration
PAdm 802: Quantitative Methods for Public Sector Professionals

Course Objectives:

• To engage students in the process of formulating a research question.
• To examine tradeoffs associated with different approaches (e.g. case study, survey research, experiment).
• To strengthen students data analysis and analytic interpretation capabilities.

Course Description:

• The course introduces students to evaluation of public programs and public policy. It assumes a working knowledge of research methods and statistical analysis. Students learn how to work with stakeholders to formulate a ‘researchable' question. Course participants probe the ‘theory' or program logic behind a program. Students learn about evaluations done before (needs assessment), during (process or formative evaluation) and after (outcome or summative evaluation).

Major Topics Covered:

• What is evaluation?
• Who are stakeholders?
• Program theory
• Research questions
• Needs assessment
• Case study
• Survey research
• Outcome evaluation
• Evaluating public policy