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Public management research: The triumph of art over science

Author

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  • Laurence E. Lynn

    (Professor of Public Policy Studies and Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago)

Abstract

If the lights that guide us ever go out, they will fade little by little, as if of their own accord. Confining ourselves to practice, we may lose sight of basic principles, and when these have been entirely forgotten, we may apply the methods derived from them badly; we might be left without the capacity to invent new methods, and only able to make a clumsy and an unintelligent use of wise procedures no longer understood.

Suggested Citation

  • Laurence E. Lynn, 1994. "Public management research: The triumph of art over science," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(2), pages 231-259.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jpamgt:v:13:y:1994:i:2:p:231-259
    DOI: 10.2307/3325010
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Edward F. Lawlor, 1996. "Policy change and learning: An advocacy coalition approach, edited by Paul Sabatier and Hank C. Jenkins-Smith. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1993, 290 pp., $65.00 cloth, $24.95 paper," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(1), pages 110-121.
    2. Carol Chetkovich & David L. Kirp, 2001. "Cases and Controversies: How Novitiates Are Trained to Be Masters of the Public Policy Universe," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(2), pages 283-314.

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