Quantitative Methods in Public Administration: Their Use and Development Through Time

ABSTRACT

This article aims to contribute to recent debates on research methods in public administration by examining the use of quantitative methods in public administration research. We analyzed 1,605 articles published between 2001–2010 in four leading journals: Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (JPART), Public Administration Review, Governance, and Public Administration (PA). Results show that whereas qualitative methods are still predominant compared to quantitative methods (56% versus 44%), the field is becoming increasingly quantitative. Of quantitative methods used, surveys are most dominant, while a combination of methods is used far less often. In general, very few studies use a mixed methods design. As to the areas of research, we found that the use of quantitative methods is unequally distributed; some subfields (public management) use quantitative methods more often than others (policy and politics), and some journals (JPART, PA) publish articles on quantitative research more than others (Governance). Implications for public administration research are discussed.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to thank Marieke van der Hoek for her excellent assistance.

Notes

Except for PAR which has been placed at number 11 in the 2011 JCR database.

When a (quasi-)experimental research design including self-administered questionnaires was used, the article was coded as survey.

We must note that the ChiSquare does not meet all requirements (some expected cell counts are <5). Hence, we should be careful in interpreting these results.

Additional information

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Sandra Groeneveld ([email protected]) is a Professor of Public Sector Management at the Institute of Public Administration, Leiden University, the Netherlands. Her research and teaching activities revolve around organization and management in the public sector, with a special focus on diversity-related issues. Her expertise covers quantitative research methods, especially survey research, and advanced multivariate statistical techniques.

Lars Tummers ([email protected]) is an Assistant Professor in Public Management and Public Policy at the Department of Public Administration, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In addition, he is a Research Fellow at Arizona State University. Lars specializes in policy implementation, public leadership, and public innovation, as well as in quantitative research methods and techniques.

Babette Bronkhorst ([email protected]) is a PhD student at the Department of Public Administration, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Her research focuses on the relationship between organizational climate, leadership, and wellbeing of health care employees. She specializes in quantitative research methods as well as mixed methods research.

Tanachia Ashikali ([email protected]) is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Public Administration, Leiden University, the Netherlands. Her research is focused on diversity management outcomes in public organizations. She specializes in quantitative research methods and structural equation modelling techniques.

Sandra van Thiel ([email protected]) is a Professor of Public Management at the Department of Public Administration, Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands. She has published and lectured extensively on public management and public administration as well as on research methods. Recently, her textbook Research Methods in Public Administration and Public Management was published (Routledge, 2014).