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Little Bites of Big Data for Public Policy
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Little Bites of Big Data for Public Policy



February 2017 | 96 pages | CQ Press
“Kettl’s easy-to-read book and various examples of big data application are required reading for seasoned academics as well as for students who work in public administration and want to contribute to real-world problem solving.”
–Junghack Kim, Wichita State University

Little Bites of Big Data for Public Policy
brings to life the quest to make better policy with better evidence. This brief book frames the big puzzles and, through lively stories and clear examples, provides a valuable how-to guide for producing analysis that works—that speaks persuasively to policy makers, in the language they can best hear, on the problems for which they most need answers. Author Donald F. Kettl brings together the cutting-edge streams of data analytics and data visualization to frame the big puzzles and find ways to make the pieces fit together. By taking little bites of a wide variety of useful data, and then by analyzing it in ways that decision makers will find most helpful, analysts can be much more effective in shaping solutions to the most important problems governments face. 
 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Author
 
Chapter 1: Knowing Better
Doing without Knowing (Everything)

 
The Law of Supply and Demand

 
Making Evidence Speak

 
 
Chapter 2: Get the Story, Get It Right
What Are the Right Questions?

 
What Is a Good Answer?

 
 
Chapter 3: Tell the Story
Filters

 
Seeing Data

 
Making Data Speak

 
 
Chapter 4: Sell the Story
Anecdotes

 
Mediating Information

 
Making the Sale

 
 
Chapter 5: Speak above the Noise
How to Know What We Know

 
Speaking above the Noise

 
 
Index

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter 1

Chapter 2


Donald F. Kettl

Donald F. Kettl is professor emeritus and former dean at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy. Until his retirement, he was the Sid Richardson Professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, at the University of Texas at Austin. He is also a senior adviser at the Volcker Alliance, a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.Kettl is the author or editor of twenty-five books, including Bridgebuilders: Harnessing Society’s Superpowers to Solve Its Biggest Problems, with William D. Eggers; The Divided States of America ... More About Author

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ISBN: 9781506383521
$46.00