Writing an economics research paper is a daunting task, especially if it’s your first one.
Simply put, you are not writing an essay or article. Your research paper should demonstrate that you have analyzed a particular topic to its core.
Economics is an experimental and challenging field. It involves significant work to produce a good paper because it interacts with various other streams as well.
You can’t put out a good paper one or two nights before its deadline. It takes hours of research and compiling of data to come up with a fairly reasonable argument.
Types of Economics Research Papers
Economic research papers can be divided into two – empirical and theoretical.
Empirical papers use actual statistics, data, observation and experiments to report a finding or support a certain outcome.
A theoretical research paper supports a theory with the help of theoretical research and set assumptions. They are usually written when data is unreliable.
Theoretical + empirical papers use data to check whether a predicted outcome is true.
What Your Paper Should Contain
Title
The title for your paper should be interesting, accurate and to the point. It should summarize the main topic you are addressing.
Introduction
The introduction should cover the following points,
- Introduce the topic in question.
- Address a question, perspective, problem, or controversy surrounding the topic.
- How your paper will attempt to find a reasonable answer or solve the question?
- The methods you will be used to support your claims.
- Explain why the topic you are writing about is important for economists and the future of economics.
Methodology
Here you have to present the methods you have used to obtain data that support your research topic.
There are several types of research methodology so make sure you apply the right one to create accurate accounts.
Explain why you used that methodology model as well.
Data
The data section is an essential section in empirical research papers. You should explain why you used the data and identify its source as well.
For a successful economics research paper, it is essential you follow the proper structure. The omission of certain topics will definitely affect the credibility and quality of your paper.
If you are not familiar with the structure you can take the help of online writing professionals like WritersPerHour.
Tips To Help You Write A Better Paper
1. Find A Niche
The first part is to find a topic to write about.
In order to deliver a good paper, you need to write about a topic that hasn’t been researched sufficiently.
Find a niche that interests you but try to stay away from ones that have practically no data or information.
The topic you pick must have the potential to answer a common question or address the different viewpoints surrounding it.
Perform sufficient background research to help you understand more about the topic you have chosen.
Make sure you have access to the necessary reports, statistical data and journals to refer to.
2. Be Result-Oriented
Be straightforward with the results you present.
You don’t have to include tons of tables or graphs to support your concluding statement.
Focus on what is relevant, include the necessary data, and make sure it is related to your central argument.
3. Figure Out Your Approach
Scattering data and statistical information randomly in your paper won’t do anything to make it great.
The structure is important in research papers. Be clear about how are you going to approach your research topic.
Create an outline. Consider whether you want to answer a major question or a set of questions.
Next figure out how you are going to be supporting your answers with the necessary data. This can be through graphs, charts, pictographs, or frequency diagrams.
The methodology models you use must be relevant and reliable enough to support your claims.
4. Writing
People tend to use long and complicated sentences in an attempt to make their paper look sophisticated.
In the end, they are just leaving the readers confused.
Keep your sentences short and avoid unnecessary words.
Refrain from repeating statements. Try to leave out content that is not related to economics. Fluff is not necessary for your research paper.
Avoid using the passive voice. Your readers will have a hard time figuring out who is doing the action in your sentence.
If you say ‘Evidence is collected’, instead of ‘I collected the evidence’ it will seem like someone else did the work.
5. Literature Review
Make sure all the previous research you mention in this section is related to economics or sourced from economic journals.
This can include both books and journals on the Internet.
You should mention how your current research is different from the previous research which has been done on the topic. Specify whether you are answering a certain question or demonstrating new data.
6. Organize Your Paper
Your research paper should be well-structured and organized.
Each line should relate to the previous one. Don’t jump to another subject without closing one.
Present the most important parts of your argument at the beginning instead of the end. Not everyone will read your paper till the very end except for people who actually work in the economics field or are interested in a particular topic.
Always consider your reader’s perspective when you draft your paper.
Refrain from making statements that are not supported by data or statistics. Whatever you present must be followed with the approach you took to prove it.
7. Proofread Your Paper
Once you finish writing your paper, don’t forget to proofread it.
Read and reread your work to spot typos, grammatical errors, missing punctuation marks, headings, or other information.
Give your undivided attention while you proofread your research paper. Instead of proofreading on your screen, consider getting a printed copy. This will help you conduct a more efficient study of your material.
Eliminate repetitive phrases, filler words or sentences that don’t contribute anything to your argument.
Don’t forget to check whether you have referenced your sources correctly in the bibliography.
Conclusion
You can go through economic research papers on the internet to get an idea of what they look like.
Remember to focus on the content and not the length of your paper. Long papers aren’t necessarily better than short ones.
Start working on your paper well in advance to avoid rushing through it in the final days.
