Instructor:
Any member of the faculty

Prerequisites:
None

Course Objectives:
Varies with the instructor.

Students taking this class generally have completed Research Methods in Public Administration (Public Administration 702) and/or Applied Statistics for Public Sector Professionals (Public Administration 802) and are interested in advancing their understanding of applied research.  Students completing this class should be better prepared to make meaningful contributions to applied research projects and should provide expanded analytical capacity to public organizations.  Students completing this class should have a greater appreciation for the bridge between theory and practice in public administration and enhanced conceptualization skills.

Course Description:
Provides students with an opportunity to engage in advanced study in topics that are of immediate concern and arise only occasionally.  Content varies with issues that arise, student needs, and faculty expertise.

As used recently, this class is an independent study of selected research topics.  Commonly 4-6 students are selected for participation in Public Administration 755 based on demonstrated interest and analytical capacity.  Students assist as research associates or co-investigators in an applied research project conducted by the Hugo Wall School of Urban and Public Affairs or in writing a follow-up research paper to be presented at national conferences associated with public administration.

Major Topics Covered:
Varies with the instructor.

Student participants for the spring semester of 2001 were assigned to one of four projects: 1) A survey research project sponsored by the City of Wichita and Sedgwick County governments to study quality of life issues and willingness to pay for strategic local government investments including central business district development and regional sports arena; 2) A paper examining the immigrant adjustment process in Fairfax County, Virginia based on interviews with more than 900 immigrants; 3) A paper assessing community policing in an African-American community in Wichita, Kansas based on interviews of more than 500 members of the African-American community and more than 40 interviews of police officers that worked in a community policing capacity with the African-American community; 4) A paper which examined citizen perceptions of performance and willingness to pay for investments in public education based on more than 7,000 responses to a survey of citizens.

Typical Textbooks and Readings:
Varies with the instructor.

Students are required to conduct a review of the literature associated with their assigned research or policy issue.  Students develop a conceptual outline including detailed notes that will be used to guide the research including questionnaire construction or conceptualization associated with a research paper.