Taking Language Seriously : The Narrative Foundations of Public Administration Research

White, Jay D.

ISBN 10: 0878408789 / ISBN 13: 9780878408788

Published by Georgetown University Press, 2001

About this Item

Unread book in perfect condition.

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: Taking Language Seriously : The Narrative Foundations of Public Administration Research
• Publisher: Georgetown University Press
• Publication Date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0878408789
• ISBN 13: 9780878408788
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: As New

About this title

Synopsis

The logic of research in public administration, argues Jay D. White, may be more like that of storytelling than of conventional social science research. In Taking Language Seriously, he examines the linguistic, discursive, and narrative foundations of public administration research and develops a narrative theory of knowledge development and use for the field.

White builds his case for this narrative theory by showing how research on complex problems is grounded in language and discourse. He then explains how a variety of recent developments in philosophy and the humanities―positivism, postpositivism, hermeneutics, critical and legal theory, postmodernism, and poststructuralism―can contribute to our understanding of public administration research.

Focusing on the logical structures of three modes of research―explanatory, interpretive, and critical―White shows how each is equally legitimate, depending on the nature of the research questions.

This comprehensive yet clear discussion of the philosophical foundations of research in public administration advances an alternative theory of knowledge development that will be valuable for everyone in fields seeking to affect social, political, economic, and organizational change.

About the Author

Jay D. White is a professor of public administration at the University of Nebraska, Omaha and coeditor of Research in Public Administration: Reflections on Theory and Practice (Sage Publications, 1994). He is editor of the annual, Research in Public Administration.