How does the operation of PHARMAC's 'Community Exceptional ...

Chapter 5: Research Method
Introduction
This chapter describes the research theory and method utilised to gather and
analyse the research data about PHARMAC’s Community Exceptional
Circumstances policy.
In this chapter the theory behind public policy research is discussed. This
research project was approved by the Auckland University of Technology Ethics
Committee (AUTEC) and the conditions of this approval are outlined.
The methods of collecting the research data from five sources (interviews,
media study, leglislation, a court case and official information) are discussed.
This is followed by a discussion about the Braun and Clark’s (2006) thematic
analysis and what is involved in a successful implementation of this method.
Finally, the execution of the thematic analysis describing Braun and Clark’s six
phases sets out how the research data were handled and analysed.
The Theory of Researching Public Policy
Authors have described the difficulty of managing public policy research
(Bardach, 2000; Coleman, 1975). As has been stated previously, the starting
point for analysing public policy is an examination of the social and theoretical
traditions which are built up over time and which have come to be accepted
(Cheyne, et al., 2005). Public policy aims to utilise these underlying
assumptions to establish guidelines and interventions (Baehler, 2000, 2003)
and also looks at the consequences of drawing on these assumptions to
validate knowledge of the subject (Cheyne, et al., 2005).
There are differences between analysing social assumptions through qualitative
design and analysing the policy outcomes using scientific quantitative design.
Cheyne et al. (2005) argue that this is because policy research operates at the
boundary of these two research worlds. Such thinking supports Coleman’s
earlier work in 1975 which contended that there is no single comprehensive
method for analysis of policy questions (Coleman, 1975).
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