The Potential of Meta-ethnography in the Study of Public Administration: A Worked Example on Social Security Encounters in Advanced Liberal Democracies

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Boswell, John; Smedley, Stuart
• 署名单位: University of Southampton
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION RESEARCH AND THEORY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1053-1858
• DOI: 10.1093/jopart/muac046
• 发表日期: 2023
• 页码: 593-605
• 关键词: front-line; low-income; Workfare; FUTURE; burden

摘要

The purpose of this article is to highlight meta-ethnography-the interpretive synthesis of ethnographic studies on a given theme-as a useful tool in the study of social policy and public administration. We claim this approach can maximize the impact of rich idiographic research to enable theory-refining and evidence-building efforts in the field. We illustrate these benefits through reference to a worked example focused on public encounters with social security in advanced liberal democracies. We show how we drew together 49 ethnographic studies from a variety of disciplines to identify repertoires of response that citizens exercise in their encounters with the contemporary welfare state. Through this analysis, we demonstrate how meta-ethnography can shed new light on topical contemporary debates about administrative burden. We conclude by reflecting on the prospects and limits of this technique for broader use in the field.