Empirical Experiments in Public Reporting: Reconstructing the Results of Survey Research, 1941-42
2006; Wiley; Volume: 66; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1111/j.1540-6210.2006.00577.x
ISSN1540-6210
Autores Tópico(s)Electoral Systems and Political Participation
ResumoPublic Administration ReviewVolume 66, Issue 2 p. 252-262 Empirical Experiments in Public Reporting: Reconstructing the Results of Survey Research, 1941–42 Mordecai Lee, Corresponding Author Mordecai Lee University of Wisconsin–MilwaukeeMordecai Lee is an associate professor of governmental affairs at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. His major research interests are public relations and history. He recently wrote The First Presidential Communications Agency: FDR's Office of Government Reports (SUNY Press, 2005) and has published in Public Administration Quarterly, International Journal of Public Administration, Public Voices, Public Organization Review, Management Decision, Public Relations Review, Journal of Public Affairs and Nonprofit Management and Leadership. E-mail:[email protected].Search for more papers by this author Mordecai Lee, Corresponding Author Mordecai Lee University of Wisconsin–MilwaukeeMordecai Lee is an associate professor of governmental affairs at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. His major research interests are public relations and history. He recently wrote The First Presidential Communications Agency: FDR's Office of Government Reports (SUNY Press, 2005) and has published in Public Administration Quarterly, International Journal of Public Administration, Public Voices, Public Organization Review, Management Decision, Public Relations Review, Journal of Public Affairs and Nonprofit Management and Leadership. E-mail:[email protected].Search for more papers by this author First published: 06 March 2006 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2006.00577.xCitations: 12Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Abstract During the first half of the 20th century, public administration developed a normative theory of public reporting. It called on government managers to contribute to an informed citizenry through regular reports to the public, especially annual reports. However, in the only known instance when this theory was subjected to comparative empirical research, a doctoral student at the University of California, Berkeley, conducted some methodologically credible experiments during the early 1940s. Her results demonstrated the ineffectiveness of annual reports. However, rather than adjusting to accommodate this empirical information, leading organizations ignored them and continued pushing for annual reports. With the test results never published in an academic journal and the student's dissertation left incomplete, they were soon lost and forgotten. Public administration's interest in public reporting declined during the second half of the 20th century, perhaps because of the lack of an empirically based approach. References Beyle, Herman C. 1928a. Governmental Reporting in Chicago. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Google Scholar ———. 1928b. Objective Studies as a Basis for Functionalized Governmental Reporting. In Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Governmental Research Association, 128–40. New York: Governmental Research Association. Google Scholar ———. 1936. Checking Response to Municipal Publicity. Public Management 18(6): 163–66. Google Scholar ———. 1939. Reporting—A Two Way Street. Public Administration Review 2(2): 16–8. [Note: This journal was published in 1938–39 by the Syracuse University Public Administration Alumni Association. After it folded, the title was revived in 1940 for the journal of the newly created American Society for Public Administration.] Google Scholar ———. 1941. Institutions Through Which Government Is Carried On. In Introduction to Responsible Citizenship, edited by William E. Mosher, 285–305. New York: Henry Holt. Google Scholar Bradley, Phillips. 1941. Local Government Is News. American City 56(5): 65, 87. Google Scholar ———. 1944. Year-End Stock-Taking. American City 59(12): 75–6. Google Scholar ———. 1945. Putting the Taxpayer's Dollar into Pictures. American City 60(3): 89–90. Google Scholar City of Berkeley. 1941. Civic Affairs 1940–41: 18th Annual Report, Berkeley, California. Berkeley, CA: City of Berkeley. Google Scholar City of Palo Alto. 1940. Your City Government 1939–1940: Palo Alto, California. Palo Alto, CA: Slonaker's Printing House. Google Scholar Contributors in Review. 1939. National Municipal Review 28(8): 595, 600. 10.1002/ncr.4110280808 Google Scholar ———. 1940a. National Municipal Review 29(3): 197. 10.1002/ncr.4110290310 Google Scholar ———. 1940b. National Municipal Review 29(8): 557–8. 10.1002/ncr.4110290812 Google Scholar Editorial Comment: The Case for the Annual Report. 1941. Public Management 23(8): 225–6. Google Scholar Faulkner, B. H. 1941. Letter to the Editor. National Municipal Review 30(6): 318, 365. 10.1002/ncr.4110300602 Google Scholar Gabrielian, Vatche. 1999. Qualitative Research Methods: An Overview. In Handbook of Research Methods in Public Administration, edited by Gerald J. Miller and Marcia L. Whicker, 167–205. New York: Marcel Dekker. Google Scholar Gallup, George. 1938. Public Opinion in Our Cities. National Municipal Review 27(2): 69–71, 103. 10.1002/ncr.4110270204 Google Scholar Huitt, Ralph K. 1951. Doctoral Dissertations in Political Science in American Universities. American Political Science Review 45(3): 779–816. 10.1017/S0003055400062523 Google Scholar Jones, Howard P. 1940. The League's Business. National Municipal Review 29(5): 288. 10.1002/ncr.4110290503 Google Scholar ———. 1941. The League's Business. National Municipal Review 30(11): 618, 647. 10.1002/ncr.4110301101 Google Scholar ———. 1942a. The League's Business. National Municipal Review 31(1): 2, 59–64. Google Scholar ———. 1942b. The League's Business. National Municipal Review 31(2): 70. 10.1002/ncr.4110310201 Google Scholar Jones, Howard P., and Alfred Willoughby. 1943. The League's Business. National Municipal Review 32(2): 58, 88–93. Google Scholar Koiner, C. W. 1941. Across the Editor's Desk: Newspapers and Reports. Public Management 23(10): 315. Google Scholar Lee, Mordecai. 2002. Intersectoral Differences in Public Affairs: The Duty of Public Reporting in Public Administration. Journal of Public Affairs 2(2): 33–43. 10.1002/pa.92 Google Scholar ———. 2003. Is There Anything New Under the Sun? Herbert Simon's Contributions in the 1930s to Performance Measurement and Public Reporting of Performance Results. Public Voices 6(4–6): 73–82. Google Scholar ———. 2005. The First Presidential Communications Agency: FDR's Office of Government Reports. Albany: State University of New York Press. Google Scholar ———. 2006. The History of Municipal Public Reporting. International Journal of Public Administration 29(4–6): forthcoming. Google Scholar McNabb, David E. 2002. Research Methods in Public Administration and Nonprofit Management: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe. Google Scholar National Committee on Municipal Reporting. 1931. Public Reporting: With Special Reference to Annual, Departmental, and Current Reports of Municipalities (Publication No. 19). New York: Municipal Administration Service. Google Scholar New York Times . 1940. Gets Barnard Fellowship: Miriam Roher First Graduate to Win Public Service Award. May 3. Google Scholar Palo Alto (CA) Times . 1941a. Is Someone's Hand in Your Pocket? April 3. Google Scholar Palo Alto (CA) Times . 1941b. John Q. Citizen Liked Report: But He Still Has a Lot to Learn about His City. March 28. Google Scholar Pfankuchen, Llewellyn. 1941. Doctoral Dissertations in Political Science in Preparation at American Universities. American Political Science Review 35(4): 752–69. 10.1017/S0003055400041708 Google Scholar Resnick, Miriam Roher, and Lillian Herlich Nerenberg. 1969. American Government in Action. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill. Google Scholar Roher, Miriam. 1938a. The Manager Plan in Suburbia. National Municipal Review 27(4): 200–2, 236. 10.1002/ncr.4110270406 Google Scholar ———. 1938b. Hackensack Confounds a Legend. National Municipal Review 27(7): 361–4. 10.1002/ncr.4110270706 Google Scholar ———. 1938c. Smallest Jersey Town Votes under Manager Charter. National Municipal Review 27(8): 404. Google Scholar ———. 1938d. Review of Report of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Bronxville, New York, 1937–1938. National Municipal Review 27(10): 520. Google Scholar ———. 1938e. New Research Bureau Established at Hartford. National Municipal Review 27(11): 545. 10.1002/ncr.4110271108 Google Scholar ———. 1938f. Frontier Town Manager, 1938 Model. National Municipal Review 27(12): 573–5. 10.1002/ncr.4110271205 Google Scholar ———. 1938g. Review of Building Citizens for a Better City: Budget 1939. National Municipal Review 27(12): 624. Google Scholar ———. 1939a. Review of Civic Life in Milwaukee, 1937: Annual Consolidated Report of the Common Council, by Richard E. Krug and Helen Terry. National Municipal Review 28(2): 185. Google Scholar ———. 1939b. Review of New York Advancing, by Rebecca B. Rankin, ed. National Municipal Review 28(7): 564. Google Scholar ———. 1939c. A Taft in City Hall. National Municipal Review 28(10): 694–7, 748. 10.1002/ncr.4110281005 Google Scholar ———. 1940a. Review of Government Publicity, Its Practice in Federal Administration, by James L. McCamy. National Municipal Review 29(1): 83. Google Scholar ———. 1940b. Editor Puts Civics on Page One: “Enlightenment on Municipal Affairs Has Been a Circulation Builder and a Circulation Retainer.” National Municipal Review 29(3): 156–63. 10.1002/ncr.4110290304 Google Scholar ———. 1940c. Review of County Manager Government in Effect in the County of Monroe, State of New York, by Arthur H. Crapsey, editor and compiler. National Municipal Review 29(5): 348. Google Scholar ———. 1940d. Review of Cincinnati Yearbook, 1939–1940: Annual Report of the City Manager. National Municipal Review 29(7): 512. Google Scholar ———. 1940e. The Woman Who Woke Up a City. National Municipal Review 29(8): 518–22. 10.1002/ncr.4110290804 Google Scholar ———. 1940f. Mrs. Minority. National Municipal Review 29(9): 585–59, 631. 10.1002/ncr.4110290906 Google Scholar ———. 1940g. Review of Public Opinion, by William Albig. National Municipal Review 29(10): 703–4. Google Scholar ———. 1941a. Reviews of Municipal Public Relations, by Elton D. Woolpert and A Checklist of Suggested Items for the Annual Municipal Report, by Clarence E. Ridley. National Municipal Review 30(1): 64–5. Google Scholar ———. 1941b. Education of a Citizen. National Municipal Review 30(4): 192–8. 10.1002/ncr.4110300404 Google Scholar ———. 1941c. Note on Methods Employed in These Polls. National Municipal Review 30(4): 198. [Appendix to Roher 1941b.] Google Scholar ———. 1941d. Review of Public Relations of Public Personnel Agencies: A Report Submitted to the Civil Service Assembly by the Committee on Public Relations of Public Personnel Agencies, by William E. Mosher, Chairman. National Municipal Review 30(10): 613. 10.1002/ncr.4110301018 Google Scholar ———. 1941e. Polls Reveal Newspaper Articles Effective in Informing Public. Public Management 23(8): 241–42. Google Scholar ———. 1941f. How Good Are Reports to Citizens? Western City 17(8): 17–9, 27. Google Scholar ———. 1943. Review of Homes for Heroes: Fourth Annual Report of the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles. National Municipal Review 32(6): 349. Google Scholar ———. 1944. Review of Modernizing Municipal Reports. National Municipal Review 33(1): 23–4. 10.1002/ncr.4110330108 Google Scholar ———. 1945. Coast States Try Cooperation. National Municipal Review 34(10): 484–7. 10.1002/ncr.4110341002 Google Scholar Roher, Miriam, and Rudolf Modley. 1940. Who's Boss? A Story in Pictures about the Citizen and His City Government. New York: National Municipal League. Google Scholar Tuchman, Gaye. 1994. Historical Social Science: Methodologies, Methods, and Meanings. In Handbook of Qualitative Research, edited by K. Denzin Norman and Yvonna S. Lincoln, 306–23. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Google Scholar Who's Boss? 1940. National Municipal Review 29(5): 286–87, back cover. 10.1002/ncr.4110290502 Google Scholar Williams, Daniel W. 2002. Before Performance Measurement. Administrative Theory and Praxis 24(3): 457–86. Web of Science®Google Scholar ———. 2003. Measuring Government in the Early Twentieth Century. Public Administration Review 63(6): 643–59. 10.1111/1540-6210.00329 Web of Science®Google Scholar ———. 2004a. Evolution of Performance Measurement Until 1930. Administration & Society 36(2): 131–65. 10.1177/0095399704263473 Web of Science®Google Scholar ———. 2004b. Performance Measurement and Performance Budgeting in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. Abstract prepared for Conference of the European Group of Public Administration, September 1–4, Ljubljana, Slovenia. www.soc.kuleuven.ac.be/pol/io/egpa/qual/ljubljana/Williams_paper.pdf, accessed on January 10, 2006. Google Scholar Willoughby, Alfred. 1943. Editorial Comment: Reports and Reporting. National Municipal Review 32(4): 166–67. 10.1002/ncr.4110320401 Google Scholar With the Researchers. 1941. Governmental Research Notes: Quarterly Bulletin of the Western Governmental Research Association 3(4): 11. Google Scholar Wrege, Charles D., Regina A. Greenwood, and Sakae Hata. 1999. What We Do Not Know about Management History: Some Categories of Research and Methods to Uncover Management History Mysteries. Journal of Management History 5(7): 414–24. 10.1108/13552529910297479 Google Scholar Citing Literature Volume66, Issue2March 2006Pages 252-262 ReferencesRelatedInformation
Referência(s)