Open AccessBest Practice Recommendations for Replicating Experiments in Public Administration
Author(s) -
Richard M. Walker,
Gene A. Brewer,
Myoung Jin Lee,
Nicolai Petrovsky,
A. van Witteloostuijn
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of public administration research and theory
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.154
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1477-9803
pISSN - 1053-1858
DOI - 10.1093/jopart/muy047
Subject(s) - replication (statistics) , administration (probate law) , government (linguistics) , set (abstract data type) , process (computing) , field (mathematics) , public relations , best practice , political science , work (physics) , sociology , public administration , management science , computer science , law , biology , engineering , mechanical engineering , linguistics , philosophy , mathematics , virology , pure mathematics , programming language , operating system
Replication is an important mechanism through which broad lessons for theory and practice can be drawn in the applied interdisciplinary social science field of public administration. We suggest a common replication framework for public administration that is illustrated by experimental work in the field. Drawing on knowledge from other disciplines, together with our experience in replicating several experiments on topics such as decision making, organizational rules, and government–citizen relationships, we provide an overview of the replication process. We then distill this knowledge into seven decision points that offer a clear set of best practices on how to design and implement replications in public administration. We conclude by arguing that replication should be part of the normal scientific process in public administration to help to build valid middle-range theories and provide valuable lessons to practice.