Assignment

As a current or future public administrator, you know that one of the most important approaches to research involves philosophical assumptions or the basic set of beliefs that guide actions. After a preliminary review of the literature on your topic, discuss your understanding of why the topic is important to study. This should lead to a final comment that includes your research problem statement.

For this discussion question, perform the following tasks:

• Select and analyze one topic from the following list of research topics for a research project:

o Health care
o Homelessness in your community
o Quality of drinking water in your municipality
o Public transportation
o Municipal finance
o Lobbying by nonprofit organizations

• Evaluate and explain in detail the philosophical view, such as postpositivist, social constructivist, advocacy and participatory, or pragmatic, that you will use for the research project.

• Explain the rationale for selecting a research topic.

• Provide your research problem statement.