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 鈥榬esearchable' question. Course participants probe the 鈥榯heory' 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