David Levine
January 19, 2005
Business Administration 259C: Industrial Relations
Paper Assignment
The most difficult assignment in this course is the term paper. The paper presents an opportunity for you to do some original research on the topic of your choice.
The assignment consists of five parts: a prospectus, a checkpoint, a rough draft, refereeing, and a final paper.
Prospectus should be handed in by Feb. 17, and is due in class March 3. (That is, students who wait till March 3 are
already behind schedule, but I will not penalize them.) The prospectus is a two paragraph statement
of the problem your paper will examine. It contains a question you will examine
(e.g., "What do
Checkpoint should be handed in by March 3 and is due March 17. The checkpoint assignment explains your access to your data source, and includes a rough draft of your survey, questionnaire, statistical methodology, etc. This assignment is one type-written page, with attachments. By the time the checkpoint has been turned in, you must have already checked whether your planned data source is available; for example, will a sufficient number of senators agree to fill out your survey?
A shockingly long time is needed to identify a topic and data source. Start thinking about the topic soon, and do not be surprised when due dates come around and you cannot gain access to your data.
A complete rough draft of the paper is due at 5 p.m. on Friday May 6. I will not read this draft, but it must be handed in and complete. That is, it needs an introduction, literature review, data description, methods, results, discussion, tables and bibliography. An email submission is fine.
Refereeing: A second copy of your rough draft must be refereed a classmate, and you must referee another classmate's draft. A referee makes comments about a paper to ensure high quality. The referee should check that the analysis is complete and convincing, as well as improve the clarity and organization of the paper. The referee should provide comments within 48 hours of receiving the paper. A copy of your referee's comments (one or two pages) should accompany your final draft.
The Final Paper is due at 5 p.m. May 13. The completed paper should be 12 to 20 double-spaced pages (excluding graphs, charts, etc.). Authors of longer papers will be summarily executed (unless the paper is very, very good).
Group papers can involve two people and can be up to 26 pages.
Topic: Feel free to pick any topic you wish. I am happy to discuss these topics with you. I have compiled a list of possible topics, but you are invited to choose any relevant topic of interest.
All papers must follow the guidelines in “How to Present Results.” These instructions are important for clarity; thus, papers must follow them.
Note: Referees are responsible for noting discrepancies between a draft paper and these instructions.
You are welcome to use this term paper for your statistics, econometrics, or
research methods classes if the professor of that class agrees.