RESEARCH METHODS EDUCATION FOR PUBLIC SECTOR CAREERS: THE CHALLENGE OF UTILIZATION

As the world rapidly becomes more complex, there is a greater need for tools of research and data analysis to assist the public administrator. While many university programs recognize this need and include several methodology courses in their curriculum, there is little evidence that students are taking this knowledge into the field. In this article, the need for usable methodology courses are stressed. The first section of this article is dedicated to identifying those factors that make methods classes more practical. The remaining portion concentrates on two approaches to teaching that the author asserts will help students to use in the field what they have learned in the classroom. Copyright 1989 by The Policy Studies Organization.

The framing of risks and the communication of subjective probabilities for victimizations

What does 'likely' mean, when respondents estimate the risk to become a victim of crime? We apply prospect theory to derive hypotheses of framing-effects on perceptions of risk. Victimization risks can either be interpreted as gains (?being spared of offences?) or as losses (?becoming a victim of crime?). Because losses are perceived as more severe, respondents will state lower subjective victimization probabilities in the loss-frame, compared to the gain-frame. We demonstrate such a framing-effect with data from an experimental survey. Furthermore, we show that the meaning of vague quantifiers varies with the frequency and the severity of the event. Respondents assign to the same vague quantifiers (e.g. 'unlikely') higher likelihoods in terms of percentages for frequent and for less severe events than for infrequent and for severe events. Because respondents do not use vague quantifiers consistently, it is problematic to compare subjective risks for different victimizations