Mixed-Methods Inquiry in Public Administration: The Interaction of Theory, Methodology, and Praxis

Although the methods wars that were entrenched in most of the social science disciplines well into the 1990s have purportedly ceased, methodological diversity remains rare in public administration. We suggest that the productive interaction between methods, theory, and praxis in the field of public administration requires further methodological integration. Through a review of articles published in Review of Public Personnel Administration (ROPPA) since 2011, we show that the promise of mixed-methods design has not fully materialized. We explore avenues for implementing mixed-methods research designs that are particularly appropriate for examining the behavior and motivations of public service personnel by identifying examples of articles in ROPPA that used a single-method approach but could have usefully leveraged a diversity of methods to answer their primary research question. We then support our case for the use of integrated mixed-methods with a study of the institutionalization of a performance assessment system in an international organization.