This is a course about Public Policy Analysis -- or more clearly, about ways policy staff evaluate and select policy options.  Consequently, the primary focus is on areas that public agencies deal with, and on options generally available to government.  This suggests that there are opportunities and stumbling blocks which are uniquely tied to public agencies.  And, while much of what we discuss is applicable to private sector organizations, public organizations are fundamentally different than non-public. 

Class Links:

Bardach's Eight-Fold Path
Policy Brief Format (6-8 pages)
Policy Analysis Format (20-25 pages)
CBO Sample Analysis Paper "Trends in Public Infrastructure Spending"
Kennedy School PAE "Liability Barriers to Brownfield Development" 

Writing Guides and Resources:

CSUN: Learning Resource Center
UCSB: Writing Resources
Harvard: The Writing Center
Purdue: Online Writing Lab (OWL)
Illinois Urbana: The Writers' Workshop
Capital Community Technical College: Guide to Grammar and Writing
University of Richmond: Writer's Web
Hanover College: Writing Manuals and Guides
Hudson Valley Community College: Grant Writing Resources
Medianet:  Presentation Skills

Additional Resources For Policy Analysis:

General Texts on Policy Analysis

Weimer & Vining:  Policy Analysis:  Concepts and Practice  
Prentice Hall, 1999, 3rd Edition

Bardach:  A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis : The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving  
Chatham House,   2000

Stokey, Edith and Richard Zeckhauser. 1978. A Primer for Policy Analysis
New York: W.W. Norton.

General Texts on Research Design

King, Keohane, and Verba. 1994. Designing Social Inquiry
Princeton University Press.

Judd, Charles M. 1991. Research Methods in Social Relations
Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

Lewis, George H. editor. Fist-Fights in the Kitchen: Manners and Methods in Social Research
Santa Monica, CA: Goodyear Publishing Company

Problem Definition

Bardach, Eugene. 2000. Chapter 1: Define the Problem.

Robert D. Behn, "Policy analysts, clients, and social scientists," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Vol. 4, No. 3 (spring 1985), pp. 428-432.

Client Relations and Professional Ethics

Master, David H. "Quality Work Doesn’t Mean Quality Service" and "A Service Quality Program" in Managing the Professional Service Firm, Free Press Paperbacks, 1993, pp. 69-96.

Weimer, David L. and Aidan R. Vining, "Toward Professional Ethics," in Policy Analysis:
Concepts and Practice, Prentice Hall, 1992, pp. 15-29.

Research Design

Singleton, Royce A. Jr. et al., "Elements of Research Design," in Approaches to Social Research
Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 1993, pp. 67-99.

King, et al. 1994. Chapter 1: The Science in Social Science.

Interview Skills

Stecher, Brian M. and W. Alan Davis, "How to Gather Information" in How to Focus an   Evaluation, Sage Publications 1987, pp. 43-61.

Judd, Charles M., et al. "Questionnaires and Interviews: Asking Questions Effectively," in Research Methods in Social Relations, Sixth Edition, Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1991.

Sampling and Case Selection

Kuzel, Anton, J., "Sampling in Qualitative Inquiry" in Benjamin Crabtree and William L. Miller, Doing Qualitative Research, Research Methods for Primary Care, Volume 3. Sage Pub., 1992.

King et al. 1994. Chapter 4: Determining What to Observe.