Do Canadian university students in Political Science and Public Administration learn to perform critical appraisal?. (3rd September 2015) - Lapointe, Luc
Abstract The ability to critically appraise empirical studies of any type is a prerequisite to evidence‐informed policy making. We scanned the syllabi of all Canadian university undergraduate and graduate programs in public affairs, public administration, public policy and political science. Our findings suggest that evidence‐informed policy is not yet institutionalized in most public administration and political science training curricula. We conducted a systematic review of prospective experimental and quasi‐experimental studies examining the effect of university courses aimed at training social sciences students in critical appraisal, but did not find such a study.