PAdm 845: Public Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
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 鈥榬esearchable鈥� question. Course
participants probe the 鈥榯heory鈥� 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