행정학 연구방법론에 대한 평가와 제안: Triangulation을 중심 으로

초록

To analyze the trend and characteristics of research methods used in public administration, along with the quantitative growth of the Korean public administration, is very important since it directly shows to what extent the study of public administration IS scientific. This study analyzed 374 studies published in the Korean Public Administration Review during 2000-2005, 341 studies in the Korean Society and Public Administration, 256 studies in the Korean Journal of Policy Studies, and 131 studies in the Korean Journal of Policy Analysis and Evaluation. More specifically, those studies were classified first into administration and policy study areas and then they were further classified into empirical and theoretical(or conceptional) studies. According to data collection and analysis methods, quantitative methods included questionnaire, mathematical model, computer simulation, and secondary data, and qualitative methods included participant observation, interview, focus group, case study, and phenomenological research. Drawing on these works, this study analyzed all the research methods used in each study and found that only 11 of 929 studies used mixed methods. More importantly, it was found that mixed method approaches were adopted merely to help data collection without emphasis or discussion on their methodological implication. Accordingly, this study proposed that multi-method approach, the combination of methodologies in the study of the same phenomenon called "triangulation," should be emphasized to compensate the weaknesses In each single method by the counter-balancing strengths of another.

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