Conducting best practices research in public affairs

Over the past decade a broad cross section of research has been carried out under the rubric of best practices (Bendixson and de Guchteneire, 2003). This article takes a closer look at best practices research and its application to the field of public affairs. First, two questions are addressed: what is best practice? And what is best practice research? Next, some of the major methodical criticisms of best practice research are addressed. The two major approaches (e.g. quantitative/microeconomic and qualitative/case study) to conducting best practices research are then identified and discussed. A recent qualitative/case study best practices research effort conducted by the Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Central Florida is then detailed. As part of this recitation, a tripartite schema to classify qualitative/case study approaches to best practices research is presented.