Suchergebnisse

Social experiments can play an important role in policy research & policy making. It is necessary, however, to move beyond the narrow conception of experimentation that has dominated such efforts as the NJ guaranteed income experiment. While that effort is to be commended as a pioneering venture, it ignored important issues such as the way in which recipients of the guarantee perceived the experiment & its influence on their present & subsequent actions, the way in which policymakers viewed the experiment, & the impact of the experiment on the orientation & subsequent actions of the researchers themselves. A possible experiment in guaranteeing jobs is outlined, which would include: (1) development of a model that considers the relevant social systems affecting the experimental situation -- including subjects, policymakers, & researchers; (2) collecting data on experimental outcomes as well as on orientations of actors that guide action; (3) bringing together representatives of the several systems to discuss research results; & (4) achieving an overall view of how & why important persons in important social systems would react to turning the experimental effort into national policy. AA.

English
Codes of ethics governing research in social science have tended to focus on the rights of participants in research. This focus is too narrow to be an effective guide for ethical policy research. Some typical problems concern the development of organisational research, research in the public domain, and conflicts between the rights of participants and others. Policy research needs to be guided by standards related to professional practice in policy, public accountability and general principles related to the promotion of welfare.

MANY DISCUSSIONS OF POLICY ANALYSIS ASSUME A "CLIENT" IS ALSO THE "POLICYMAKER" WHO CAN IMPLEMENT RESULTS OF AN ANALYSIS. FOR MOST DOMESTIC SOCIAL PROGRAMS THIS IS MISLEADING; MOST SUCH POLICY CONTEXTS ARE DECENTRALIZED IN THAT THEY INVOLVE NUMEROUS PARTICIPANTS.

AN EXAMINATION OF THE INTELLECTUAL ASSUMPTIONS, PROFESSIONAL CONVENTIONS, AND INSTITUTIONAL PRESSURES IN POLICY RESEARCH-AND OF SUBSTANSIVE ALLOCATIONS AND FINDINGS OF PARTICULAR PROGRAMS IS BADLY NEEDED. THE UNDEFINABLE "PUBLIC INTEREST" SHOULD BE REPLACED BY A DEFINABLE FAIRNESS DOCTRINE SEATING THE STATUS OF DRAFTS, PROJECT FINANCES, AND INSTITUTE AND SPONSOR CONTROLS.