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Scholarly research in American public administration has been maligned by both academicians and practitioners. The criticisms range from dissatisfaction with research designs in doctoral dissertations to claims that refereed journal articles lack theoretical foundation. This article examines the application of quantitative methodologies in a random sample of four mainstream public administration journals over a 4-yearperiod. The evaluation reveals that a significant number of authors in the sample used inappropriate quantitative techniques. The implications of these findings are discussed within the broader context of policy prescription and evaluation.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) extends additional rights to 43 million disabled Americans. Ultimately the interpretation and enforcement of the ADA will fall under the jurisdiction of the courts. History has shown that in other areas of personnel such as affirmative action and pre-enployment testing, the courts have played a proactive, and oftentimes confusing role in providing guidance to line and staff managers. This paper discusses judicial intervention and provides guidance to state and local government managers who will be required to comply with the provisions of the ADA.

This article analyzes all employee grievances filed by state workers In North Dakota for a period exceeding four years. The conclusions differ from much of the literature concerning the public employee grievance process. In contrast to other studies, this population of grievants contains very few complaints containing allegations of discrimination. Female workers file a disproportionately low number of grievances, and the appeals body exhibits a decidedly pro-employer bias in grievance outcomes. Finally, there is little evidence that workers who file grievances later experience difficulties with their supervisors, as reflected in performance evaluation results.

Performance evaluation is an important tool for effective management. Much of the recent literature has focused on the efficacy of civilian performance appraisal systems. As a result, there is a knowledge gap with respect to military appraisal systems in general, and those of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps in particular. The 1978 Civil Service Reform Act spawned several performance appraisal systems within each of these agencies; the USMC utilizes five separate systems in the evaluation of civilian and military personnel; the Navy has adopted three separate appraisal mechanisms. This article specifically examines the device used to evaluate senior military staff in the Navy and Marine Corps—the fitness report. Because this particular appraisal methodology differs radically from its federal civilian counterparts, a rather detailed descriptive section serves as an orientation for the reader. The approach is intended to supplement John Pelissero's article on performance evaluation in the Department of the Army (Pelissero, 1984).