Public Administration Research Paper

PAPER REQUIREMENT: 5 to 7 pages, 3 scholarly references 

SUGGESTED TOPIC: Corruption of Public Officials (any matter related to ethics in public administration is 

acceptable)

1. Begin by selecting a topic to research. The research paper requires a public administration topic 

selection that focuses on an ethical scenario that confronts you in public administration.

2. What is the problem that you want to investigate? State the problem as a question.

3. Why does this problem interest you?

4. What does the literature say? Find three to five research-based articles about the topic as a literature 

review.

5. What did you learn about this topic in relation to addressing the problem that you researched? What 

new knowledge, recommendations, or proposed solutions have you uncovered?

6. Develop your conclusions. As you have completed the work in this course, you have noticed themes in 

the unit lessons, the assigned readings, and the assignments. Now, you will combine that knowledge 

with your personal examples and previous experiences to construct your research paper. Your research 

paper should include the following structure:

 Title Page

 Executive Summary

o List the issues, findings, and bulleted recommendations.

 Introduction of the issue in context

o Is this research anchored in current events or personal experiences, peer reviewed articles, or other 

approaches?

 Narrative

o Review what you did and describe the issues.

 Ethical Context

o Provide history of relevant ethical dilemma and the main players in your scenario

 Analysis, Evaluation & Critique o In your scenario, how were issued handled by the administrator or 

governing individual/group?

 Recommendations

o What would be a recommended approach or action?

 Summary and Closing

o What conclusion can you come to as a result of your research?

 References Your response should be at least five to seven pages in length.