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Abstract
The success of economic research depends on the way researchers present it to readers. This course provides practical insights on how to structure, frame, and present applied economic research papers by discussing and analyzing well-crafted economic research papers in a reading group. It also provides practical tips on the publication process in economics and involves small writing assignments.
Objective
This course aims to help Ph.D. students effectively frame, organize, and present their research papers through in-class discussions on how successful economists write them. It also helps Ph.D. students to navigate the peer review and refereeing process in economics. It is not a writing course in academic English (see 363-1063-00L instead). The course focuses on the structure and presentation of applied economics papers, including data visualization. It assumes that students have the necessary English writing skills. The course involves small writing assignments between course weeks, which help students to incorporate what they have learned into their project(s). As part of the course, we will discuss the opportunities that AI-based translation tools (such as DeepL) and Large Language Models (LLM) such as Chat-GPT offer to the writing process.
Content
Writing and framing a research paper are essential and often undervalued skills for quantitative economists. Because economists often want to learn an economic “story,” crafting an oral and written communication strategy for a research paper may be as important as the analysis itself. This colloquium provides Ph.D. students with insights into the often implicit Dos and Don’ts of writing and publishing research papers in applied economics. What should I put in the abstract? How do I structure the introduction? What is my contribution, and how can I frame it as broadly as possible without overselling it? How do I discuss related research? What are the effective ways of presenting my research design? How do I visualize my main results? When do I send my paper to a scientific journal, and which journal should I target? How do I respond to referee comments? How do I write a referee report myself? How can I use tools such as Chat-GPT and DeepL in the writing process? In this course, Ph.D. students will develop answers to these and related practical questions through in-class discussions of well-written applied economic research papers from all fields of applied economics. In addition, the course involves a few small take-home assignments between course weeks, which are optimally suited for Ph.D. students working on a draft of one of their projects, either in the early or later phase. The colloquia will provide opportunities to discuss these writing samples and visualizations. Finally, introductory lectures will summarize key insights from the surprisingly voluminous literature on writing and publishing in economics.
General Information
- Language
- English
- Levels
- DR
- Frequency
- Every two years
Examination
- Type
- ungraded semester performance
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| seminar |
Writing and Publishing Research Papers in Applied Economics
Does not take place this semester.
Block course
|
No time listed | 20 h semesterly |
Offered In
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Doktorat Management, Technologie und Ökonomie (Mehr Informationen unter: )
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