ABSTRACT
The concepts of administrative-practice (a-p) theory, theory generators, and adaptive administration have been introduced in Chapter 1. Chapter 5 describes how Big Data systems may be applied to establish knowledge bases and host theory generators in order to produce new areas of expertise for practitioners in public administration. Big Data concepts are introduced, and the relevance for public administration is demonstrated. As illustrated, Big Data applications are revolutionizing both the private sector and political campaigns. The extension to public administration and policy may be enabled by recognizing the unique aspects of the field that may best be accommodated through qualitative analysis and typologies rather than quantitative algorithms and simulations. Recent developments in qualitative modeling and the use of typologies are evaluated. New perceptions of these areas of study have served to strengthen the foundation for their use.
