Marie Lowman, ed., A Practical Guide to Analytics for Governments: Using Big Data for Good (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley and Sons, 2017), 225 pp. $49.95 (hardcover), ISBN: 9781119362821

• Published date: 01 September 2019
• Date: 01 September 2019
• Author: Spiro Maroulis
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13098

798 Public Administration Review • Septe mber | Oct ober 2 019

Spiro Maroulis is associate professor in

the School of Public Affairs at Arizona State

University, where he teaches computational

modeling, econometrics, and data analytics

for public policy and management. His

research addresses the theoretical and

methodological problems involved with

understanding the relationship between

individual and collective behavior, with

a particular focus on organizational

innovation and improvement, social

networks, and public policy.

E-mail: spiro.maroulis@asu.edu

Marie Lowman, ed., A Practical Guide to Analytics for

Governments: Using Big Data for Good (Hoboken, NJ:

Wiley and Sons, 2017), 225 pp. $49.95 (hardcover),

ISBN: 9781119362821

In one sense, the terms “analytics” and “big

data” are new labels for existing ideas. Many

organizations and governments have long-standing

investments in using information technology to

collect and provide useful and timely data to decision-

makers. In another sense, these labels are referring to

challenges and opportunities made possible by the

confluence of two more recent and larger trends. One

is the growing volume of data made possible by both

the accumulated use of information technology in

organizations and the digital traces left by individuals

interacting in an increasingly connected and electronic

world. The other is the explosion in our capacity to

store, process, and have computers reliably recognize

patterns, or “learn,” from these mounds of data. A

Practical Guide to Analytics for Governments does a

good job in highlighting both the data management

challenges posed by the growing volume and sources

of data and the new opportunities enabled by

computational advances in being able to process it.

The book is an edited volume of chapters contributed

by authors with in-depth experience in public

service who are associated with analytics software

Spiro Maroulis

Arizona State University