Public Administration and Policy: A Research Guide

Public administration is concerned with the formulation and implementation of government policies and programs. Its concepts and methods come from political science, sociology, psychology, economics, and organizational studies. Public policy and public management are two aspects of public administration. Public policy focuses on the formulation and analysis of government policies and public management examines the implementation and evaluation of government programs. This guide introduces researchers to some of the basic informational sources on the topic. The terms and phrases listed in the subject headings below can be used to search for more materials in the library's catalog and research databases. If you need further assistance, please ask a librarian.

Encyclopedia of Policy Studies edited by Stuart S. Nagel. New York: Marcel Dekker, 1994. ISBN: 0824791428.
Provides general approaches to policy studies and policy problems.

Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy edited by Jack Rabin. 2 vols. New York: Marcel Dekker, 2003. ISBN: 0816047995.
Provides short essays on various topics related to public administration or public policy.

Facts On File International Encyclopedia of Public Policy and Administration edited by Jay M. Shafritz. 4 vols. Boulder: Westview Press, 1998. ISBN: 0813399734.
Encyclopedia of concepts and terms arranged alphabetically. Brief bibliographies often accompany entries.

Handbook of Comparative and Development Public Administration, 2nd ed. by Ali Farazmand. New York: Marcel Dekker, 2001. ISBN: 0824704363.
Examination and analysis of public administration.

Handbook of Public Administration, 2nd ed. edited James L. Perry. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1996. ISBN: 0787901946.
Overview of the public administration field including relationships with other government branches, policies and programs, budgets and fiscal administration, human resources, operations and services, and the profession.

Handbook of Public Administration, 2nd ed. edited by Jack Rabin, W. Bartley Hildreth, and Gerald Miller. New York: Marcel Dekker, 1998. ISBN: 0585138583.
Examines all major areas in public administration including public budgeting, financial management, decision making, public law and regulation, and political economy

Handbook of Public Law and Administration edited by Phillip J. Cooper and Chester A. Newland. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997. ISBN: 0787909300.
Provides an overview of all aspects of public law and how it affects the public administrator's job and responsibilities.

The Public Administration Dictionary, 2nd ed. edited by Ralph C. Chandler and Jack C. Plano. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1988. ISBN: 0874364981.
Includes concepts and terms that are fundamental to an understanding of the field of public administration. Defined terms are arranged in seven subject categories with indexes both for those terms and others included in the text of definitions.

Public Affairs Information Service Bulletin (PAIS) . New York: Public Affairs Information Service, 1968– . Monthly. ISSN: 10514015.
Indexes resources in public affairs and policy for use by the government, the business/financial community, researchers and students. Emphasis is on factual and statistical information. 1400 periodicals, as well as books, reports, and federal and state documents are arranged by subject and indexed by author.

Sage Public Administration Abstracts. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1974– . Quarterly. ISSN: 00946958.
Contains abstracts from important recent literature in public administration. Included are abstracts of books, articles, pamphlets, government publications, speeches, and legislative research studies.

American Society for Public Administration
www.aspanet.org
Professional association for public administrators for government and nonprofit organizations.

Institute of Public Administration
www.theipa.org
Organization concerned with building capacity for effective government through programs of research, technical assistance, and training in three areas: public sector governance and management, public finance and fiscal reform, and sustainable urban development.

National Academy of Public Administration
www.napawash.org
Information about the organization, news, projects, and publications.