Case Research in Public Management [Paperback]

Highly readable and non-technical, this handbook is designed to help students and non-profit managers gain a working knowledge of the principles and practices of conducting qualitative case study research in public organizations. This book is a motherload of practical and comprehensive guidance to planning, conducting, analyzing, and reporting case research project findings. McNabb begins with a detailed rationale for the use of the case research approach in public administration, non-profit organizations, and political science. Then it provides step-by-step instructions on how to conduct single-case, multicase, and meta-analysis research, with guidelines on organizing and writing the case report. Case Research in Public Management also includes many examples of case studies in a wide range of important topics in public administration, including performance management, sustainable government, technology management, security issues, emergency and disaster management, social and health services, infrastructure, public transportation, and transforming the work of government.Introduction; Cases as Applied Research; Case Research: Qualitative or Quantitative?; Objectives for the Book; Acknowledgments; Part I. The What and How of Case Research; 1. What Is Case Research?; The History of Case Research; The Meaning of Case Research; The Case in Public Administration Research; Teaching Cases; When a Case Study Is Not Case Research; Public Administration Examples; Four Primary Challenges; The Focus of Case Research; The Question of Causality in Case Research; Case Research as Interpretive Research; Causation in Social Science Research; Logical Causation; Cases and Causal Inference; An Answer to the Causation Question?; Summary. 2. When to Do Case Research and How to Pick Cases; Why Researchers Chose the Case Research Approach; Developing Theory from Cases; Testing Theories That Already Exist; Identifying a Previous Condition; Establishing the Importance of Contributing ConditlcÃ