Case Study Research in Public Administration and Public Policy: Standards and Strategies

Based on an exploratory survey of doctoral programs in public administration, commonly (though not universally) accepted standards and guidelines for case study research are synthesized and articulated. A methodological context and strategy for these guidelines is also presented, focusing on theoretic case selection rather than standardization of meta-analytic instruments alone. The call for theoretic case selection strategies and for standardization of meta-analytic instrumentation in public administration is consistent with the increased recognition of the importance of grounded theory in qualitative social science research.