Research methods for Public Administration

How clearly are the report methods explained?

In the last quarter of 2016, the City of Durham conducted a qualitative research study towards forecasting a favorable future development trajectory in line with the expectations of its inhabitants. The study fully depended on residents’ responses to survey questions delivered through postal mail to an arbitrary number of households within the sample area (ETC Institute, 2017; Johnson, 2015). Follow up emails were sent to households considered for the survey in an effort to positively encourage participation. The outcome of the survey responses was favorable and exceeded the set target by 135 more residents.

How effective or ineffective are the charts and tables in explaining the research results?

The study looked to address a number of far reaching issues concerning residents of Durham to determine whether or not the city was keeping to its mandate to offer top quality services to its inhabitants (Johnson, 2015). Charts were employed to a great extent in the report and were quite assistive in highlighting differences occurring amongst various residents relative a given item (ETC Institute, 2017). For instance, in the overall community ratings chart, 18% responded that it was a great place to retire while only 8% deemed it a poor place to live. A notable ineffectiveness with overall community ratings chart is its ineligible chart key.

Using your own criteria to assess quality and credibility, how would you rate this report?

The process through which the random sample group was selected served to appraise the credibility of the participants. Given the huge geographical expanse from which the sample was to be collected, it was only feasible to apply fixed postal addresses as means to ascertain the validity of an individual to participate in the survey (ETC Institute, 2017). Concerning quality of the report, one can deduce that the city’s efforts into significantly developing recreation, open spaces and parks had been paying off given that many respondents associated with a high degree of satisfaction.

Reference

ETC Institute. (2017). City of Durham Resident Survey. ETC Institute. Retrieved from http://durhamnc.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2622

Johnson, G. (2015). Research methods for public administration. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.