How to Write about Economics and Public Policy

Front Cover
How to Write about Economics and Public Policy
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Preface
	Target Audience for This Book
	Purposes of This Book
	How This Book Came About
	Special Features
	A Focus on Disciplinary Writing
Acknowledgments
	Disclaimer
Chapter 1: What Is Academic Writing?
	Academic Writing as a Universal Set of Skills
	Academic Writing vs. General-Purpose Writing
	The Notion of Genre in Academic Writing
	Disciplinary Differences in Academic Writing
	Academic Writing: A Definition
	Academic Writing as Research
	Academic Writing as a Dialog
	The Demands of Graduate Writing
	Special Problems of Non-English Writers
	Learning to Write Like an Expert
Chapter 2: Research in Public Policy and Economics
	What Is Research?
	Research in Public Policy and Economics
	Empirical vs. Nonempirical Research
	Purposes of Empirical Research
		Exploration
		Description
		Explanation
	Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research
	Which Approach Is Prevalent in Public Policy Programs?
	The Rhetoric of Quantitative and Qualitative Research
	Research Designs in Public Policy and Economics
		Quantitative Designs
		Qualitative Designs
		Combining Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches
	Examples of Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches
		Qualitative Approach
		Quantitative Approach
Chapter 3: Research Topics and Paper Options
	Possible Topics
	Narrowing Down a Topic
	Suggestions for a Good Topic
		A Good Topic Is Limited
		A Good Topic Is Researchable and It Is Researchable by You
		A Good Topic Focuses on a Debatable Issue
		A Good Topic Allows You to Make an Original Contribution
		A Good Topic Is Grounded in Theory and Previous Research
	Common Problems with Topic Selection
		``The Current Situation´´
		``What Can Be Done?´´
		``Research as Advocacy´´
		Research on ``My Country´´
	Research Paper Options
Chapter 4: Identifying Literature to Review
	What Is Academic Literature?
	Scholarly Literature
		Scholarly Journals
		Textbooks and Scholarly Books
		Doctoral Dissertations
		Academic Conference Reports
	Policy Literature
	Popular Literature
	Hierarchy of Academic Literature
	Looking for Relevant Literature: Where to Start
		The Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)
		The Journal of Economic Perspectives (JEP)
		Policy Studies Journal (PSJ)
	How to Read Literature Reviews
	Suggestions for Searching for Empirical Literature
	Where to Look for Literature
Chapter 5: Reading and Analyzing Literature
	Understanding the Structure and Organization of Research Papers
		Title
		Abstract
		Introduction
		Body of the Paper
			Common Organization of the Body of an Empirical Paper
			Common Organization of the Body of a Nonempirical Paper
		Conclusion
		References
		Appendices
	Reading Empirical Studies
	How Many Studies to Read?
	Analyzing Empirical Studies
		Step 1: Determine Relevance
		Step 2: Assess Basic Quality
		Step 3: Group Studies into Categories
		Step 4: Identify Main Arguments
		Two Types of Argument
		Step 5: Assess the Validity of Arguments
	Common Flaws in Empirical Studies
Chapter 6: Research Questions, Hypotheses, and Purpose Statements
	What Is a Research Question?
	Where Do Research Questions Come from?
	Do All Studies Have a Research Question?
	Closed-Ended vs. Open-Ended Questions
	Empirical vs. Normative Questions
	Other Nonempirical Questions
	Research Questions in a Paper
	Formulating Empirical Questions
		Quantitative Questions
		Qualitative Questions
	Characteristics of a Good Research Question
		It Asks about Something that Is Currently Not Known
		It Is Answerable through Empirical Research
		It Is Sufficiently Limited
		It Is Theoretically Motivated
		It Is Significant for Theory or Policy Practice
	Hypotheses
		What Is a Hypothesis?
		Directional and Nondirectional Hypotheses
		Alternative and Null Hypotheses
		How to State a Hypothesis
		How to Introduce a Hypothesis in a Paper
		Where to Put a Hypothesis in a Paper
		Hypotheses in a Qualitative Paper
	Purpose Statements
		Common Patterns for a Purpose Statement
		What Tense to Use for a Purpose Statement
	Examples of Research Questions
	Research Question Analysis
Chapter 7: Research Proposals
	Ways to Develop a Research Project
		Options for a Quantitative Study
		Options for a Qualitative Study
	What if I Just Have a Point to Prove?
	How to Prepare a Research Proposal
		Proposal for a Quantitative Study
		Proposal for a Qualitative Study
	The Research Proposal: What to Include
		Statement of the Problem
		Research Question(s)
		Methodology
		References or Bibliography
	Common Problems
		Title
		Statement of the Problem
		Research Questions
		Methodology
		References and Citations
	Making and Supporting Claims in a Proposal
	Sample Proposals
	Am I Ready to Write a Proposal?
Chapter 8: Structure of a Research Paper
	Common Structure of a Research Paper
	Conceptual Parts of an Empirical Paper
		Research Background
		Methodology
		Results and Main Arguments
	Sections in an Empirical Paper: Examples
Chapter 9: Justifying a Study: The Introduction
	Problem and Its Importance
		Using Statistics to Demonstrate Importance
		How Much Background to Include?
	Research Gap
		Lack or Scarcity of Research
		Controversies
		Limitations in Existing Scholarship
		Justifying Qualitative Research
		Common Phrases Used to Describe a Research Gap
		Importance of Filling the Gap
	Contribution of the Study
		Common Phrases Used to Describe a Study's Contribution
Chapter 10: Theory and Theoretical Frameworks
	What Is Theory?
	Components of a Theory
	Theory across Disciplines
	Role of Theory in Research
	Where Should My Theory Come from?
	Theories vs. Models in Economics
	Placement of Theory in a Paper
	Describing Theory in a Paper
		Narrative Descriptions
		Visual Models
Chapter 11: Situating a Study: The Literature Review
	Suggestions for Using the Literature
		Use (Mostly) Disciplinary Literature
		Prefer Empirical Literature to Nonempirical
		Consider if You Need a Separate Section for the Literature
		Support All Claims that Are Not Based on Your Own Findings
		Evaluate Rather than Merely Describe
	Organizing the Literature to Make a Point
		Statements about the Overall State of the Field
		Statements about Most Relevant Studies
		Statements about Other Authors’ Arguments or Theoretical Positions
	Common Problems
Chapter 12: Literature Review: Models and Examples
	Annotated Extracts from Published Studies
	Annotated Literature Review from a Student Paper
	Model Literature Reviews from Student Papers
Chapter 13: Data and Methodology
	Research Question and Methodology
	The Ideal vs. the Real Methodology
	Methodology Section in a Paper
	Concepts and Measures
	Data
		What Are Data?
		Data in a Quantitative vs. Qualitative Study
		Primary vs. Secondary Data
		Data Collection Methods
		Sampling
		How Many Observations?
		Types of Data
		Data Limitations and Transformations
		Sources of Secondary Data
		Describing Data in a Study
	Quantitative vs. Qualitative Data Analysis
	Describing a Quantitative Methodology
		Conceptual vs. Empirical Models
		Model Specification
		Variable Specification
		Estimation Strategy
	Mathematical Writing: Basic Principles
		Use of Statistics
		Mathematical Expressions
		Notation
	Describing a Qualitative Methodology
Chapter 14: Results, Discussion, and Conclusion
	Results in an Empirical Study
	Where to Describe Results?
	Results in a Quantitative Study
		Which Results to Report and in How Much Detail?
		Results of Multiple Regression Analysis (MRA)
	How to Report Results in a Quantitative Study
	Reports of Quantitative Results: Examples
	How to Report Results in a Qualitative Study
	How to Discuss Results
		Explain and Evaluate
		Comment
		Draw Implications
		Address Limitations
	Writing a Conclusion
	Using Visuals: Tables and Figures
	Hedging in Public Policy and Economic Writing
	How to Qualify Claims
Chapter 15: Data, Methodology, Results, and Discussion: Models and Examples
	Describing Data and Measures
	Describing Methodology
	Describing Results
Chapter 16: Writing Skills
	Using and Citing Sources
		Citing Sources
	What Requires a Citation
	What Does Not Require a Citation
	Citing Information from Sources You Have Not Seen
	Reporting Verbs and verb Tenses
	Academic Style for References and Citations
	Quoting and Summarizing
	How to Quote
		General Principles
		Within-Sentence Quotations
		Block Quotations
		Three Ways to Incorporate a Quotation in the Text
	How to Summarize
	Paragraph Writing
		Tips for Writing a Good Paragraph
	Style, Grammar, and Expression
	Punctuation
	Common Collocations
		Multiple-Word Prepositions
		Verb + Preposition
		Adjective + Preposition
Appendix A: Citation Guides
Appendix B: Model Papers
Appendix C: Data Sources
Appendix D: Journals in Economics and Public Policy
Corpus Details
	Journals Included in the Corpus
References
	References for Academic Writing and Research
	Published Studies
	Student Papers
Index
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