Fudan-LSE Lecture Series No.13

THE SPEAKER

Richard M. Walker is Chair Professor of Public Management and Head of the Department of Public Policy at City University of Hong Kong. Richard is President of the Public Management Research Association. Richard’s work has been widely published in Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Public Administration, Public Administration Review and Public Management Review. Richard’s work currently seeks to explore the use of novel research methodologies to advance public administration theory and practice.

ABSTRACT

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.