Instead of a final exam in this class, we have a final project that will be completed in two parts. In part A you read a paper, discussed its main parts, and proposed your own research idea based on it. In part B, you are asked to refine your proposal by cleanly presenting your research question, related work, and an experimental design that answers your question. You will not run the experiment or do any data analysis. You may start your work on part B with your proposal for part A and my feedback on it. Some of you have more than others to start your work. If anything is unclear, please feel free to ask any questions.
Instructions:
Please address the following questions to the best of your ability in your own words:
1. [1pt.] Clearly and precisely write down your research question or hypothesis.
2. [1pt.] Motivate your research question. Why is it important?
For the next two questions, you need to read at least 5 papers related to your own question and present their main findings:
3. [1pt.] Create a table with at least five other academic papers related to your own research question. One of these papers can be the paper you read for part A. The table should include the citation (that is, the authors’ names and (year) e.g., Charness and Gneezy (2009)), the method of analysis (lab or field experiment, observational data etc.) and the main result of the paper.
4. [1pt.] Discuss the five papers in the main text. How do these papers inform your own research idea? How is your research idea adding to this line of work? Address your contribution in the field.
5. [1pt.] Explain why you need to run an experiment to investigate your research question.
6. [1pt.] Tie your research question to a behavioral theory.
7. [3pts.] Present your experimental design precisely and clearly.
a. Is it a lab, a field or a lab-on-the-field experiment?
b. In which context would the experiment be performed and why?
c. What is your exact treatment, what is your control?
d. What is the dependent variable? How do you measure it?
e. How are you randomizing the treatment?
f. Describe the size of the sample you need (this could be related to the length of time you
need to perform the experiment) and the control and treatment groups.
g. Is it a between or within-subject design?
h. What is the role of incentives? Do you need incentives here, why or why not?
8. [1pt.] Discuss at least one limitation of your thought experiment. Critically think of your own work. This limitation can be about feasibility, how interesting/important the question is, and/or how much it contributes to the existing literature.
Format [2pts]:
Please write a paper that follows these guidelines:
1. Structure: Do not use the questions above in your answers. Instead, put the answers to
a. b. c. d.
e.
Questions 1, 2, 5, and 6 in a section titled “Introduction”. Questions 3 and 4 in a section titled “Related work”. Question 7 in a section titled “Experimental design”. Question 8 in a section titled “Discussion”.
You can deviate from this structure if it serves the flow of your paper and you do not add the questions I ask to the final product.
“References” should be your last section in the paper. References should include a list of citations you refer to written in the same style (any style just keep it consistent).
2. Do not
3. Make the text flow.
4. Do not add fluff.
5. Justify the text like it is an academic paper.
6. Length: There is no page, word limit or any other length requirement. Just make sure to
address every question in your own words. 2-3 pages could easily cover everything, but it always depends on your unique writing style and layout.
Teamwork: You must work in the same teams you formed for part A. Please let me know if you need to make any urgent changes to your team ASAP. You must also fill in the team rubric (even if you filled it in for part A), submit it with your work on Blackboard and email it to me cc’ing all team members. The rubric is used to ensure accountability between the team members.
Submission: You may submit part B of your project on Blackboard. After submission, you will not be able to make any changes to this part. If you have technical difficulties for whatever reason, please email me ASA
Attached photo some are for the part B instructions we only need part B. Other photos are part A that I previously did
