ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on case studies, interviews, unobtrusive methods and records, participant observation, and surveys. It examines a specific methodology utilized in public administration research. Readers interested in a broader and more general summary of methods used in public administration research can consult a series of articles published in the Public Administration Review that attempt the prodigious feat. Single and multiple case studies are among the most widely-used methodological techniques in public administration research. A four-stage process labeled drift, design, prediction, and disconfirmation can be used to guide and explain applications of the case method in research. In preparing a narrative and in every other technique used in case research, the researcher must build and present a chain of evidence consisting of the citation of particular pieces of evidence. Participant observation research can focus on a variety of kinds of information.
