DISSERTATION RESEARCH IN PUBLIC-ADMINISTRATION AND COGNATE FIELDS - AN ASSESSMENT OF METHODS AND QUALITY

How does dissertation research in public administration compare with cognate fields in terms of method and quality? Guy B. Adams and Jay D. White compare the dissertation research from 1992 in public administration, criminology, management, planning, social work and women's studies. Comparative findings are presented on methods used, on the general characteristic of the dissertations, and on quality. The lack of theoretical research, or even theoretically-informed research, and the widespread presence of ''mindless empiricism'' across all six of the fields are major findings. The special features of public administration doctoral research, including ''practice research'' and ''foreign focus'' dissertations, along with the widespread use of the case study method, are discussed. Adams and White conclude that what should be done to improve the contribution of doctoral research to the field is to improve-dramatically-the quality of all types of dissertation research.