Final Project Scoresheet
- All parts will be graded for clarity and professionalism.
- I don’t expect great spelling and grammar, but I do expect to be able to understand the sense of what you are writing and I also expect that your writing will be thoughtful and cohesive.
- I want to have a sense that you are using what you learned in this class effectively.
- Plagiarism will be dealt with harshly.
Deadlines [25]
5 points each (1 each week from weeks 10-14)
Abstract [5]
This is a paragraph describing the purpose of the paper and previewing the findings.
- Is the paper summarized?
- Is the abstract understandable and well-written? (I would emphasize good writing in this part more than in other parts of the paper.)
Introduction [20]
Motivation [5]: Why your topic is an interesting or relevant topic of study. (Attempt to limit to 1-2 paragraphs.)
- Do I have a sense of why this is an interesting topic?
Problem Statement [5]: What question your research seeks to answer.
- Do I understand what the paper is researching?
Literature review [10]: What have past papers related to your topic found.
- Do you reference at least 4 papers in the literature?
- Do I have a sense of how your paper relates to the existing papers?
Data and Methodology [15]
Data description (can include statistics) [5]: What data you have and where they came from.
- Do I understand what variables you will be using?
- Do I have a sense of where the data came from?
- Do I know how any constructed variables were created?
- Do I have a sense of what the data look like (summary statistics preferably in a table)?
Model description [5]: Show your specifications (the equations you will estimate).
- Do I understand what the outcome and treatment variables are?
- Do I understand what method (OLS, fixed effects, 2SLS) will be used?
Is the equation correct and / or consistent with the notation in the book?
Identification strategy (why is “all else equal”) [5]: Why your methodology is appropriate and includes controls that will mitigate selection bias or omitted variable bias.
- Do I have a sense that you understand selection and / or causality in your context?
- Do you address how your methods seek to overcome these factors?
- Are your methods appropriate for your setting?
Empirical Results [20]
Table of regressions [10]: A professional looking table presenting your coefficients and standard errors (or possibly t-statistics).
- Do you have a table of results?
- Is your table clear?
- Is your table detailed?
- Does your table look professional? (e.g. the table should not be a screenshot)
Coefficient interpretation [10]: An accurate description of your primary findings with respect to your coefficients and their significance.
- Do you accurately interpret the coefficient on your treatment?
- Do you accurately describe the significance of your treatment?
- Do you accurately describe the coefficients and / or significance of any controls?
Conclusions [5]
How your findings compare with what you expected to find and what other papers have found.
- Does your conclusion make sense and is it consistent with your findings?
References [10]
Proper format [5]: See the Blackboard link to the correct style.
Right quality and quantity [5]: It should include at least 4 academic papers.