Methods and approaches in PA research on Italy

This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution of methods and approaches in Public Administration (PA) research on Italy. Drawing on a longitudinal database of 272 empirical articles published between 2000 and 2023 in major PA and Management journals, we systematically map the presence and evolution of qualitative and quantitative research perspectives. Utilizing bibliometric and thematic analyses, we identify and analyze five core research methods: single and multiple case studies, ethnographies, quantitative observational methods, survey methods, and experimental methods. Our findings reveal a balanced methodological pluralism with increasing sophistication in research design and analysis over time. We further discuss the diverse contributions of each method to different PA research topics, and the structure of collaborative networks on Italian PA.