The idea of an experiment is not often used in the area of public administration and management although several types of experimental elements are sometimes used (such as simulations, gaming or evaluating policy).  Van Thiel (2014) highlights several types of experiments including the classic experiment, simulation/gaming, and field experiment.  The experiment’s reliability is high due to the level of control over standard research however, that also plays into the experiments lack of realism as a controlled experiment is hardly similar to ‘real life’.  For the classic experiment the subjects are usually people and are separated into either the experimental group or the control group.  The experimental group are subjected to a specific type of stimulus whereas the control group is not.  The classic experiment is time-based and after the experiment ends, the effect of the stimulus can be analyzed.   Normally the classic experiment is a controlled space or area and in order to reduce influences to the experiment, the researcher will limit the number of variables that may influence the experiment.  The minimum set of variables in an experiment is comprised of an independent variable (stimulus) and dependent variable (the outcome to be measured).  The field experiment is yet another type of experiment.  This type of experiment takes place outside of a controlled space or laboratory.  In the realm of Public Administration, the field experiment is normally carried out by a government or public entity rather than a researcher (Van Thiel, 2014).  Experiments can also in the form of simulations and gaming.  In this case, reality is imitated in a setting that is controlled or manipulated by the researcher (Van Thiel, 2014).  Dissimilar to the classic experiment, gaming and simulation do not split the group into a control and experiment and normally more than one variable can be introduced into the experiment.

The Survey

The survey is arguably one of the best-known and widest used forms of research.  It can easily reach thousands of people, collect considerable amount of information and can be tailored to almost any form of research questions, polls or opinions.   A standard survey is normally large-scale, multiple variables and many units of study, known as respondents (Van Thiel, 2014).  To allow large scale data collection the researcher uses standardized forms of measurement, such as answer scales or numerical answer categories (DeVellis, 2012).  The most common type of survey is the written questionnaire complete with closed-ended questions that include a set of fixed answers (Van Thiel, 2014).  For example, a respondent may be asked how safe do they feel if a hurricane impacted their city and the answers would include, ‘very safe’, ‘somewhat safe’, ‘nether safe nor unsafe’, ‘somewhat unsafe’ or ‘very unsafe’.  The written questionnaire normally consists of five key steps: The design of the questionnaire, testing in a pilot (or beta test), respondent sample size or type, filling out questionnaire, and entering the respondent data into database to extract and analyze data.  Specific attention must be made to ensure the questionnaire is clear, has no leading statements, uses similar answer categories and the categories cover a complete range as possible.  Use of the Likert scale is often employed in surveys as it produces accurate and consistent statistical data.  The layout of a survey or questionnaire is also important.  The questionnaire always begins with an introduction or instruction that gives the point or aim of the study and who is conducting the research.  The order of the questions also have to be in a logical and easy to follow process and layout has to be inviting and clear for the respondent (Van Thiel, 2014).

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Case Study

The case study is simply a strategy in which one or more cases of the subject of study are observed in a real-life setting.  A case can literally be anything from a law or process to group, city, country or relationship.  Normally the case study takes on a holistic approach meaning qualitative data is gathered on everything that is done or has to do with the case.   Case studies can also be inductive or deductive and will normally produce results that have high validity and reliability.  Case studies are conducted in real life (field experiments) scenarios and generally are designed to solve or formulate an answer or solution to some type of issue or problem.  Contrary to the survey, case studies generally focus on a limited number of situations but the situations are more detailed, producing the goal of more depth than breadth (Timney Bailey, 1992).  Several key elements should be considered when conducting case studies.  The number of cases (single, multiple, contrasting, homogeneous), the number of measurements (time frame, period, spacing) and the resea