Common Mistakes When Using the Public Policy Analyst

1. Starting with a policy instead of a problem

This is the most common error that users of the PPA will make. “Gun control” and “the death penalty” are governmental policies NOT social problems. If you incorrectly identify a policy as a problem in your first step, the PPA is useless. What is the underlying social problem? In the example of “gun control” the social problem could be “violence in the community,” or “a large number of young men are being killed in the country.” Take time to consider the true social problem you want to address.

2. Phrasing the problem as a question

Do not start your Public Policy Analysis with a question such as, “Should we have the death penalty in this state?” or “Is there too much violence in our society?” Your social problem should be a declarative statement, not a question. For example, “Low reading scores in the school district,” and “Lack of good-paying jobs in the city,” are valid problems.

3. Identifying a problem that is not a “social” problem.

A social problem is different from a problem that an individual might have. In order for a problem to be a social problem, it must be something that can be addressed by a governmental policy or action. Also, a critical mass of citizens should likewise agree that a social problem exists.

4. Not specifying the specific location/jurisdiction of the problem

Always make sure your social problem is situated in an actual location. In our country there are many different levels of government and some social problems are a concern of one jurisdiction over another. Most crime is dealt with at the local level while border problems are a federal/national concern.

5. Using faulty evidence or not properly citing where the evidence came from

The Internet is home to huge amounts of information. Some of this information is from credible sources, while other information can be misleading, incomplete or downright false. Make sure you take note of where the information came from in assessing the accuracy of it.

6. Supplying too much information to your students

Performing a simple search query using one of the many available Internet search engines can result in thousands or tens of thousands of “hits.” It is wise to qualify and rank your searches in order to provide your students with the most relevant information.

7. Not providing enough information/resources for your students

Some information might not be available on the Internet or might not exist at all. Make sure there are alternative ways to gather the information that is needed to perform a valid analysis.

8. Not providing a workable time-frame and/or task

Some Public Policy Analyses could take months and require hundreds of hours of effort. So make sure you are reasonable in what you expect as an end product.

9. Incomplete understanding of the feasibility/effectiveness matrix

Selecting the best solution can be difficult if you confuse effectiveness with feasibility or make erroneous judgments as to the levels of effectiveness and/or feasibility of a particular policy solution.

10. Developing solutions at a different level than the problem.

This is similar to Problem #4 above. Do not lose track of the location of your problem. If the problem is “Crime in neighborhood X,” it’s extremely rare to have a solution at the federal/national level. If you define the location at the outset, you also are narrowing the location of where the solutions will come from.