TY - BOOK ID - 77903705 TI - Social science in government PY - 2000 SN - 1438436432 9781438436432 0914341650 9780914341659 0914341669 9780914341666 PB - Albany, N.Y. DB - UniCat KW - SOCIAL SCIENCES KW - SOCIAL SCIENCE KW - Social Sciences KW - Social Science KW - Social sciences KW - Social science UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:77903705 AB - This book presents a lively retrospective account of a career as an inner and outer in American government and academe by a social scientist who has spent many years conducting evaluation studies of what works--and what doesn't work--in domestic public affairs. It uses rich histories of prominent policy issues and descriptions of major studies of welfare and job programs to bring to life crucial questions about how social science can best serve social policy. This is a new, substantially updated, and expanded version of a book published by Basic Books over a decade ago.Richard P. Nathan writes about the real politics of social science research in a style for both practitioners and students of American government. Reviewing the earlier version of this book, James Q. Wilson said Nathan "summarizes in plain English what he has learned about how to evaluate public policy. It is an important book for a political system that may have wearied of adopting programs simply because they make us feel good or serve ideological ends." Robert Reischauer, President of The Urban Institute, commented, "Nathan's book is essential reading for policymakers who must look for ways to identify efficient government programs." ER -