Economics 8090
Research Methods

David B. Mustard
Fall 2008

Writing Suggestions

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Paper Guidelines
     The general principle for your writing is that at this point in your career everything you write should look professionally done.
    1. Your name, date, and a brief name of the assignment should be clearly printed on the top of each paper or on a title page.
    2. Staple all papers.
    3. The text of your paper should be double-spaced throughout (except tables, which can be single spaced) with standard margins.
    4. Pages should be numbered.
    5. Use a normal font, such as Times New Roman
    6. Use footnotes rather than endnotes.

    4) Explain why you use these data (time, place, level of observation). Is it the most important period? Gap in literature? Updating a previous study? This geographic area has not been examined?
    5) Why did you choose certain criteria for your study? Justify the choices you make. Is this commonly accepted in the literature? Exam the implications of your choices (sample selection, bias, etc.).

CITATIONS
    Use the standard social science citation form, which you can see in the journal articles we read in class. For example, "Lucas (1999) argues ...." or "Many studies (Jones 1998, Marshal 1999, Wilson 2000) conclude that high-stakes testing may have adverse impacts"
    Cite things that are not general knowledge. For example, there is no reason to cite like "because most schools are on break in the summer, children are looking for ways to fill their time."
    Throughout the paper use the same tense to discuss literature (usually present or past tense).
    Everything that you cite should be in the reference section and everything in the references should be cited.
    If you use a direct quote, then include the page number in your citation. For example, Anthony (2010, p. 25).


REFERENCES
    References should be listed alphabetically by the last name of the first author.
    Provide as much information about the article as you can--especially the first names of the authors.
    Be consistent with your formatting.
    You should generally list the year after the authors because in the text you cite (Lastname Year). Listing the year second makes it consistent with how you cite material in the text and makes it easier for the reader to identify the relevant piece--especially when there are multiple articles by the same author(s).
    Use hanging format--the first line of an entry should be at the margin and the subsequent lines should be indented. This is the format that journals use.

Unpublished paper
     Freeman, Richard. 1991. "Crime and the Employment of Disadvantaged Youths." National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper #3875.

Published Single-author paper
    Mustard, David B. 2001. "Racial, Ethnic and Gender Disparities in Sentencing: Evidence from the US Federal Courts," The Journal of Law and Economics, Vol. 44, no. 1: 285-314.

Published Multiple-author paper
    Nagin, Daniel and Joel Waldfogel. 1995. "The Effects of Criminality and Conviction on the Labor Market Status of Young British Offenders." International Review of Law and Economics, Vol. 15 (January): 109-126.

Book
    Moore, Myra, and David B. Mustard. 2002. Test Bank for History of the American Economy. Southwestern, Mason, OH.

Website
    Engber, Daniel. "Markets vs. Exchanges: What's the Difference?" Slate Magazine, http://www.slate.com/id/2117171/. Accessed on April 22, 2005

Suggestions to Improve Writing

The word "data" is plural. The word "datum" is singular. So "the data show" or "the data are" are grammatically correct. "The data shows" and "the data is" are grammatically incorrect.

Argument/Evaluation
    Use active voice not passive voice. Active voice makes the argument more concise and comprehensible.
    Get the facts right
    Do not present a one-sided argument. It is generally better to address criticisms to the extent you can rather than ignore legitimate criticism.
    Be definitive where you can. Avoid overly using phrases like "seems to" or "appears to". Can often eliminate "seems to" and "appears to"
    Use "believe" rather than "feel"
    Vary your word usage. Use phrases like "argue", "contend", "conclude", "maintain", "assert", etc. rather than repeatedly saying "Jones says".  Or use words like "evaluate", "examine", "analyze", etc. rather than "look at".
    Phrases like "seek to", "decide to", "choose to", etc. can usually be eliminated and simply use the verb that follows. 

Be accurate
    Avoid buzzwords and putting phrases in quotes. Say what you mean.

Commonly missed words
    affect-effect
    their-there
    to-two-too
    principal-principle

Be Concise
    You can usually eliminate many phrases
        - use "to" for “in order to”, "in an effort to", "so as to", or "for the purposes of". For example, the industry must change "in order to" be more competitive or "in an effort to regulate" (write: "to regulate").
        - “in fact”
        - "needless to say that" "It is needless to say that the regulation imposes costs and benefits."
        - "in other words"
        - "that is"
        - "itself" "themselves" etc. "The government regulated the industry itself"
        - "actually"  

More accurate:
    Very general about some things. Watch use of buzzwords (efficiency)
    affect-effect
    their-there
    to-two-too
    principal-principle