Just when you thought a great book couldn’t get any better, Eugene Bardach improves his “gem” of a handbook. Presenting dozens of concrete tips, interesting case studies, and step-by-step strategies for the budding analyst as well as the seasoned professional, Bardach’s eightfold approach encapsulates more than 20 years of teaching and guiding students towards effective, accurate, and persuasive policy analysis.

Some of the enhancements to this edition?

• A separate appendix that provides sample questions for policy analysts to ask about public and nonprofit institutions in order to aid their analysis and implementation.
• New attention to troubleshooting problems—how to avoid linguistic pitfalls, confusing “alternatives” and “criteria,” and projecting outcomes that lead to design problems.
• Expanded coverage of cost-effectiveness analysis (including a new excerpt from a RAND Corporation report).
• Explanation of evidence and justification, as well as additional semantic tips in the appendices

Readers will also find a sample document of real world policy analysis, a primer in how to “talk the talk” of policy analysis, and a cheat sheet of strategies for solving a host of policy problems.

Introduction
The Eightfold Path
Overview of the Book

Part I. The Eightfold Path
Step One: Define the Problem
Step Two: Assemble Some Evidence
Step Three: Construct the Alternatives
Step Four: Select the Criteria
Step Five: Project the Outcomes
Step Six: Confront the Trade-offs
Step Seven: Decide!
Step Eight: Tell Your Story

Part II. Assembling Evidence
Getting Started
Locating Relevant Sources
Gaining Access and Engaging Assistance
Conducting a Policy Research Interview
Using Language to Characterize and Calibrate
Protecting Credibility
Strategic Dilemmas of Policy Research

Part III. “Smart (Best) Practices”
Research: Understanding and Making Use of What Look Like Good Ideas from Somewhere Else
Develop Realistic Expectations
Analyze “Smart Practices”
Observe the “Practice”
Describe Generic Vulnerabilities
But Will It Work Here?
Back to the Eightfold Path

Appendix A: Specimen of a Real-World Policy Analysis
Appendix B: Things Governments Do
Appendix C: Semantic Tips: A Summary
Appendix D: Understanding Public and Nonprofit Institutions: Asking the Right Questions

“Generally, policy analysis textbooks provide very detailed descriptions and examples of the theoretical background and application of tools such as cost-benefit analysis, forecasting, discounting, and policy argument development. Often what is hidden is the underlying practice of policy analysis fundamentals to guide students, whether just being introduced to the field or long-time practitioners. Bardach’s guide provides, in a simple, elegant manner, the key concepts, components, useful practices, and challenges of policy analysis all policy students and scholars should know.”

- Sharon Caudle, Texas A&M University

“This book is a gem. It is clear, concise, and holds the attention of students. It captures the essence of policy analysis with an important emphasis on the role politics plays in that process. Bardach’s Practical Guide has led to hundreds of papers in my policy courses.”

- John F. Witte, University of Wisconsin-Madison

“Extremely well-written, A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis provides a great structure for helping students understand how to complete real-world policy projects and think about a number of difficult issues that all policy analysts confront. Bardach’s book plays an important role in giving students insight into what it means to be a professional public policy analyst.”

- Leslie Lenkowsky, Indiana University

“Bardach’s book is a well-written, practical guide for policy-makers and students of public policy alike. The language, while technical, is easily accessible and the book reads well. You could read it in one sitting and still want to go back and read it again. In my public policy class, students loved the book, because it gave them actual, practical tools for policy analysis. I would recommend this book to anyone who teaches, studies, or practices public policy analysis.”

- Raul Pacheco-Vega, The University of British Columbia

“A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis is a must read for those learning the craft of policy analysis. Bardach’s Guide offers a concise and clear roadmap of the general method used to conduct policy analysis, provides a terrific list of useful resources and helpful hints, and offers very practical illustrations and examples. Taken together, these offerings begin the process of skill development in policy analysis that undoubtedly leads to improved public policy decision making. As a matter of course, it is required reading for all of our entering Masters in Public Policy students.”

- Michael A. Stoll, University of California, Los Angeles

“With each new edition of A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis, Bardach continues to improve on an excellent resource. In addition to his clear, concise discussion of the eightfold path to problem solving and other fundamentals of policy analysis, he provides a whole separate appendix on how to work more effectively with public and nonprofit organizations. Both undergraduate and graduate students will obtain a strong foundation from his practical approach to policy analysis. I am a frequent user of this text, and students consistently comment that it is one of their favorite course resources which they plan to place on their professional bookshelves.”

- Colleen Galambos, University of Missouri

Eugene Bardach has been teaching graduate-level policy analysis workshop classes since 1973 at the Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley, in which time he has coached over 400 projects. This book is based on his experience teaching students the principles of policy analysis and then helping them to execute their project work. He is the recipient of the 1998 Donald T. Campbell award of the Policy Studies Organization for creative contribution to the methodology of policy analysis.