Quantitative Methods in Public Administration

Introduction

Quantitative methods are special techniques in the field of knowledge that allow one to get correct, accurate, and reliable information, and their advantages are tough to underestimate and overestimate. Indeed, it will be complicated for the government to do without these tools. Unfortunately, without them, it will be impossible to calculate accurate data, analyze and draw concrete conclusions, as well as determine a strategy for solving the problems that have arisen. Various quantitative methods, strategies, and tools within government agencies and non-profit organizations are the key aspects that will be discussed in this essay.

Questions Response

• Quantitative methods are essential in public administration for the following reasons. Primarily, according to Meier et al. (2011), these methods provide deep, extensive, and fundamental knowledge about the problems in the field, allowing one to see a holistic picture of a situation. Quantitative data collection methods are suitable for the practical verification of representations on an intuitive level. Moreover, they describe the totality of the information received, permitting people to get a single conclusion from a subset of details through the induction method.

Indeed, such tools do not guarantee one hundred percent reliable information. Nevertheless, quantitative modeling allows policymakers to present a reliable basis for transparent, systematic, and consistent analysis (Šucha & Sienkiewicz, 2020). In particular, the received information is necessary to make important and cardinal decisions. For example, according to Meier et al. (2011), politicians, as a rule, evaluate many problematic aspects such as poverty, crime, cruelty to people, diseases, and illiteracy. Consequently, due to quantitative methods, they track and study a set of similar variables, evaluate connections with other elements, as well as the degree of influence and potential results. Then, the politician makes certain assumptions from reflection and assumes, for example, what can affect the effectiveness of a particular organization or what will result in the retention of volunteers in the non-profit sector.

• Measurement is the key to success for a non-profit or government agency. According to Meier et al. (2011), such organizations get the opportunity to measure and describe specific moments, compare them with others and draw conclusions. It is an indispensable tool for agencies to assess the productivity and effectiveness of particular phenomena and the interests and preferences of citizens (Subramanian, 2018). Politicians can take timely, effective, and prompt actions based on the knowledge gained. Hence, these personalities will compare specific numbers with phenomena of interest. For instance, the measurement will be instrumental when evaluating the army’s effectiveness by certain characteristics or the level of education on the principle of determining student performance in exams. This tool will also be helpful when studying people’s attitudes, views, and preferences towards someone or something.
• A “concept” is an indicative aspect that sheds light on essential, influential, and meaningful ideas or elements. It indicates a characteristic or a standard, common feature, for example, between members of a particular social group. Therefore, the main essence of a “concept” is to generalize, or vice versa, to abstract a number of points. Indeed, a “concept” plays a key role in the study’s design. It provides a comprehensive and multilevel explanation of the success of specific actions, increasing sensitivity to certain characteristics of objects and subjects of research.
• There are several reasons why a percentage distribution is extremely necessary in public administration. Firstly, this method makes it easier to understand and interpret an extensive array of raw data. For example, the procedure allows one to see how many tons of garbage is collected by each team or how city police make many arrests each month (Meier et al., 2011). Secondly, the distribution also demonstrates classes and subgroups corresponding to the original variables; it expands perceptions and knowledge. Hence, a percentage distribution illustrates the number of “active” police officers or the number of arrests per employee (Meier et al., 2011). In brief, the tool is vital for data generalization, systematization, competent organization, and classification.
• As practice shows, the main differences between measurement levels and central tendency are in the following aspects. Primarily, measurement levels have several categories which estimate specific elements. The first level studies standardized parameters identical upon repeated examination. The second level is ordinal, and the metric unit often has a greater or lesser characteristic. Accordingly, the third nominal level provides for the inability to accurately determine the features and characteristics of an object or subject.

Central tendency defines the middle, central point in the data group. It gives a brief, general idea of the primary trend and average values for groups and categories of information. In short, measurement levels calculate indicators based on a specific category and several other critical aspects. Central tendency focuses only on averages and has one type and format of the data study. For example, when studying the number of arrested citizens by police officers, measurement level considers specific, certain determinants (Meier et al., 2011). Sentral tendency takes into account a specific “golden mean” and can determine, for example, the total number of detainees and the total number of “active” police officers (Meier et al., 2011). Moreover, when considering public policy, it is essential for public authorities to rank and classify the information received, further establishing links and generalizing knowledge.

Conclusion

In conclusion, one should note that quantitative methods are essential and significant tools for non-profit organizations and public administration. With their help, such organizations can achieve high results, success, and prosperity. For example, “concepts,” percentage distribution, and central tendency denote the main, “central” data and common features between particular objects and subjects, simplifying the understanding of some cases. In addition, the primary levels and measurement categories do excellent work in analyzing several cases.

References

Meier, K.J., Brudney, J.L., & Bohte, J. (2011). Applied statistics for public and nonprofit administration (8^th ed.). Cengage Learning.

Šucha, V., & Sienkiewicz, M. (2020). Science for policy handbook. Elsevier. Web.

Subramanian, K.R. (2018). Analytics and performance measurement for organization development. International Journal of Combined Research & Development, 7(6), pp. 1861-1874. Web.