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Research Project: Each student will complete a project
involving a Research Proposal, a Research Progress Report, a Research
Paper, and an In-class Presentation. Students are encouraged to work on a
topic that interests them. Almost
any topic related to Public Finance is acceptable. Students can choose
whether to work individually or as part of a group. Prior to turning in the
Research Proposal, each student should meet with me to discuss the
project. If students have chosen to
work on a group project, then all students should come to the same meeting.
If this is the first time tackling such a project, you
may be unsure of where to start. One
book that has been a good source for me in the past is The
Economist’s Handbook: A Research and Writing Guide by Thomas L.
Wyrick.
The Research Proposal should be 2-3 pages long
(12 point font, double spaced). It
should outline what you intend to do with this project and provide a preliminary
list of references.
The Research Progress Report should be 4-5 pages
long. It should include the project
outline (revised if necessary) as well as a discussion of the relevant
literature you have read to date. If
you have additional material (e.g. preliminary results), you can submit it
at this time.
The Research Paper should be approximately 20
pages long and should be similar in style to the academic research papers
read during the course. A hard copy of the paper should be
turned into me by 5:00pm on December 13, 2006. The final grade will drop by 20% per day
if turned in after the deadline. In
addition, an electronic version of the paper (either pdf or word format)
should be emailed to me as no later than 5:00pm on the same day. There should be no difference between the
hard copy version and the electronic version. If you are working on the project as a
group, only one copy need be submitted.
Format: All documents submitted should use 12 point font,
be double spaced and have standard margins (at least one inch on all
sides).
As discussed in the Mt. Holyoke Student Handbook,
plagiarism is not acceptable. If you
are unsure of what plagiarism is, see sources such as the MLA Handbook
for Writers of Research Papers (6th edition) by Joseph Gibaldi.
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