Quantitative Methods in Public Administration, PAD6701

Fall Semester (3 cr.)
The purpose of this course is to help you understand statistics and develop practical skills for summarizing, describing, and analyzing the data in a public administration/policy setting. The focus is on the presentation and interpretation of quantitative data. This is a rigorous course requiring cumulative effort.

Quantitative data play an important role in public administration. Whether assessing program performance, benchmarking across jurisdictions, or informing policy decisions, public administrators must be able to interpret data, recognize patterns, and draw evidence-based conclusions. (A few examples of this type of evidence-based analysis include: analyzing trends over time, benchmarking, budgeting or performance audits, policy analysis, and extrapolating findings from a study sample to a population.) This course builds foundational knowledge in descriptive and inferential statistics, equipping students with analytical tools to support data-driven decision-making. Emphasis is placed not only on conducting analyses using Microsoft Excel, but also on clearly communicating the results verbally and in writing - skills that directly support the MPA program’s emphasis on problem-solving, evidence use, and persuasive communication with diverse audiences.