Eco 336Research Paper
Dr. Donna Anderson Fall 2015
DUE:Sunday Nov 22, 2015, 11:59pm (PLACE IN D2L Dropbox)
The research paper will concern the percent female in the labor force by country. The statistical analysis for the paper will be done in a computer lab using secondary data from The World Bank (http://databank.worldbank.org/).You will test whether 5independent variablesof your choosing available in the datasethave a significant effect on the dependent variablepercent female in the labor force.
The statistical analysis for the paper will be done in a computer lab. I am not available to read over your paper before you turn it in, although you are strongly encouraged to have others proof your paper. Please remember that I do not give private tutor lessons, so if you do not attend the classes we are in the computer lab, I will not answer questions you have about the paper.
• Paper must reflect independent, original research. It must be your own work. You will fail the course if you plagiarize.
• Paper must be typed.
• Paper must have a title that describes the subject.
• Paper’s outline must follow the outline given below. Each section and subsection should be properly labeled/titled.
Outline for Research Papers
I. Introduction
A. Background
B. Review of Related Literature
II. Research Purpose
A. Statement of the Topic
B. Research Hypothesis
III. Research Design
A. Data
1. Description of Data
2. Source of Data
B. Descriptive Statistics and Discussion
C. Description of Statistical Tests
IV. Results and Analysis
A. Hypothesis Testing
B. Interpretation of Results
V. Conclusion and Recommendations
A. Conclusion
B. Recommendations
C. Limitations of the Study
VI. List of References
Grading scale for each section: A=Complete & correct C=Partially complete &/or incorrect F=Incomplete & incorrect
I. Introduction – 15% of overall paper grade Grade _____
A. Background
Write a 2 paragraph minimumbackground section in which you introduce the reader to the issue of the status of the women in the world, ensuring you touch on labor force participation. You want to entice the reader to continue reading. This means finding information from the popular press or other media. Note that this information does not need to come from formal research articles, but it can. In addition, you must cite the source of the information in parentheses following the report of this information in your paper. For this paper, your parenthetical need only contain author(s)’ last name(s), and year of study. Example: (Smith, 1998) (Minimum of 2 paragraphs)
Do not use rhetorical questions, especially in the introduction. For example,do not write: “Have you ever wondered why the sky is blue? I know I have.” Instead, theintroduction should contain background information about the research topic.ALSO do not use “you”.
B. An Example: China…
Summarize the economic status of women in one country in a minimum of three paragraphs. You must discuss some of the statistics from the World Bank data for your country, including your dependent variable.Each student will select a different country. (Minimum of 3 paragraphs).
II. Research Purpose – 3% of overall paper grade
A. Statement of the Topic
This paper explores country-wide variation in the percent of total workers that are female.
B. Research Hypothesis
A research hypothesis is a declarative statement signifying a relationship between two or more variables. A hypothesis asserts a probable answer to a research question. It is more specific than the Statement of Topic.
I hypothesize that the following variables have a significant effect on YOUR DEPENDENT VARIABLE (percent of total workers that are female): ***LIST YOUR INDEPENDENT VARIABLES***.
III. Research Design -22% of overall paper grade
A. Description of Data
Provide a brief description of the organization– World Bank – that provided your data. Information about the World Bank can be found http://www.worldbank.org/en/about(1 paragraph)
Provide a brief description of the data – GenderStats – that can be found at http://data.worldbank.org/topic/gender
ALSO, INCLUDE INFORMATION ON THE SAMPLE SIZE and YEAR of DATA. (1 paragraph)
I use 2010 GenderStats data provided by the World Bank to test my research hypotheses. The World Bank is…(World Bank, 2015)
GenderStats is…(World Bank, 2015)
B. Descriptive Statistics and Discussion
Put together a table of the descriptive statistics for each variable you use in your study PLUS write one paragraph briefly explaining each of the statistics. (1 paragraph)
Descriptive statistics for the variables used in my analysis for all full-time workers are provided in Table 1. …
Table 1 below.(attached)
Table 1 Descriptive Statistics
C. Description of Statistical Tests
Write a brief description of the statistical test – multivariate regression analysis. (1 paragraph)
I use multivariate regression analysis to test my hypothesis. Regression is…(CITE)
IV. Results and Analysis – 20% of overall paper grade
Cut and paste the table of the SPSS statistical test results from REGRESSION ANALYSIS here, then provide an interpretation of the results below it.
Table 2 shows the results of the regression analysis.
Table 2
V. Conclusion and Recommendations – 10% of overall paper grade
A. Conclusion
Summarize the study’s most notable findings AND include a statement of the relationship of the evidence to your original hypothesis. No new information should appear here. (1-2 paragraphs)
I originally hypothesized that …. My results partially supportmy hypothesis. ………has a significant effect on the dependent variable. The other variables do not have a significant effect on percent female in the total workforce.
B. Recommendations
Recommend courses of action based on your research findings. That is, note how a decision-maker would act on the results of your research. Note that this is different from suggestions on how future studies could be improved, which appear in the next section. (1-2 paragraphs)
Based on my findings, I have a few recommendations….
C. Limitations of Study
State the limitations of the results and how future studies could be improved. (1 paragraph)
This study has a few limitations…
For example: The data includes all countries in the world that vary greatly in terms of education, health, labor force and political statistics. Therefore, it is difficult to draw conclusions and make recommendations that would apply to all countries. Future researchers are encouraged to do group countries based on develop status and do a similar analysis. Another limitation is the small sample. Several indicators are not available for all countries, which reduces the sample size. Future researchers are encouraged to locate other datasets with more complete data. This analysis is done on only one year, which could be an outlier. Therefore, research should be done on other years in order to ensure accurate conclusions. Further, the data is from a secondary source which make it difficult to verify. Researchers in the future are encouraged to use their own primary data if resources permit.
VI. List of References -10% of overall paper grade
Provide an alphabetized bibliography of all sources you cite in your paper, including those in the Source(s) of Data Section. You must use proper bibliographic notation. See: Murphy Library Citing Sources page.
GRAMMAR & OTHER STYLISTIC CONVENTIONS – 20% of overall paper grade
1. NOTE: This is to be a paper that you would be proud to use as a writing sample for a future employer or graduate school. It is to be professionally written and the appearance must be professional as well.
2 Paper is:
clear – Clarity can be achieved using concrete, specific words; short, well-organized paragraphs, most of which begin with a topic sentence; coherent organization.
coherent – If a message is well organized and contains well-chosen works, including necessary and appropriate transitional words, phrases, and paragraphs, it will be coherent.
complete – The report must be complete in that it answers fully all the reader’s questions and gives all the needed or desired information. A report must fulfill its stated purpose which is stated in the introduction. In addition, unclear, inexact words such as “unfair”, “a lot”, “many” should be defined.
concise – Your report avoids unnecessary repetition, rambling, wordy phrases, and long, complicated words and phrases. Use simple direct wording.
“It may seem unscientific and even unfair, but a poor final report or presentation can destroy a study. Research technicians may appreciate the brilliance of badly reported content, but most readers will be influenced by the quality of the reporting. This fact should prompt researchers to make special efforts to communicate clearly and fully.” (Cooper and Schindler, Business Research Methods, 1998).
3. The paper may be written in the first or third person BUT ABSOLUTELY NOT written in the second person. That is, do not write: “In the one-sample statistical test, you are determining whether the mean of a single variable differs from a specified constant.” Do not use “you”. Instead write “The one-sample statistical test determines whether the mean of a single variable differs from a specified constant.”
Another example: SECOND PERSON: “For more information on this subject, you can see their website at…” SHOULD BE CHANGED TO: “More information on this subject can be found on their website at…”
SEE: http://www.themfactor.com.au/Articles/Writing-Style-First-Second-Third-Person.htm for more information.
NOTE: Writing in second person anywhere in the paper will result in an automatic “F” for GRAMMAR.
4. Paper is free of typographical mistakes/spelling errors.
5. Paper contains parentheses in paper.
6. APPEARANCE: Paper is visually pleasing, professional, with each section labeled.
7. Paper contains a title that reflects the paper’s subject.