A Playbook for Research Methods: Integrating Conceptual Frameworks and Project Management
Patricia M. Shields is a Professor of Political Science at Texas State University and the Director of the Master of Public Administration Program. She has edited the journal Armed Forces & Society since 2001. She has won numerous teaching awards for her work supervising student research. Her research interests include pragmatism and public administration, teaching research methods, women in public administration, and civil military relations. She is the author of Step-by-Step: Building a Research Project and has published over 60 articles and book chapters in Public Administration Review, Administration & Society, American Review of Public Administration, Armed Forces & Society, Journal of Public Affairs Education, Society,  Journal of Graduate Teaching Assistant Development, Administrative Theory and Praxis, Public Administration Quarterly among others.   Nandhini Rangarajan is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Texas State University. She earned a Ph.D. in Public Administration from the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, State University of New York at Albany. Her research interests are in creativity and innovation, public management, human resources and organizational behavior. Her articles have appeared in prominent public administration journals such as the Review of Public Personnel Administration, Public Productivity and Management Review and the Journal of Public Affairs Education.  Her chapters have been published in recent books such as The State of Public Administration and Local Economic Development and the Environment: Finding Common Ground.