Research Paper: Data Abstract
Objective
The goal of this submission is to help you front-load finding and setting up the data set(s) you need for your analysis, so that you have all the information you need to develop a careful empirical strategy and analysis plan for your paper (and paper proposal).
Components
The data abstract should consist of two things:
A write-up (roughly one page) of your chosen research question. It should clearly state your research question, discuss the data sets you will include, and list the variables from those data sets you plan to include. Think of this taking one of your ideas from your idea proposal, revising it to reflect any feedback, and adding specifics about the data and variables you will use in your analysis.
Your research question should be clearly stated, and it should be answerable with the data you describe.
Be clear about everything we need to know regarding your data. Where is it from? What years are available? What countries/groups are included?
Be specific about what variables you will include in your analysis. These variables should be summarized in your summary statistics table. If you weren’t able to get all of them up and running, discuss what additional variables you plan to add and where you will get them from.
Ultimately, any data sets you use will need to be cited in your references/bibliography section, so include those citations at the bottom of your document as well.
A “summary statistics” table that includes the basic descriptive statistics that will be relevant to your analysis. Ultimately, this table will probably be the first table in your final paper. It should be formatted nicely (i.e., not copied directly out of Stata) with easy-to-interpret variables names and column headers, and it will likely include the following:
Number of observations
Means and standard deviations of your dependent variable(s)
Means and standard deviations of your key independent variable(s)
If you are comparing two (or more) groups, you will likely want to report means separately for each group.
Any other details that might be relevant to your data (i.e. number of states, number of years, number of households, etc.)
Consult the grading rubric for additional guidance!
Submission requirements
Submit to me the following through Blackboard (submissions folder)
Data abstract (in Word or as a PDF) - write-up + summary table
Do-file that imports your data set(s) and creates your results
Log file
Rubric
You will be graded on the following criteria for each question, 22 points total
| Does not meet (0 points) | Partially meets (1 points) | Fully meets (2 points) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research question | Research question is absent or too broad to interpret | Research question is stated but not specific and/or not answerable | Research question is clearly stated, specific, and answerable |
| Data set (points x 3) | Data set not listed or completely inappropriate to answer research question | Data set(s) listed, but may be insufficient to answer question | Data set(s) that will be used are clearly identified, appropriate to answer question |
| Data files | No evidence of data files in Stata | Data files imported into Stata, with some problems | Data files imported into Stata successfully |
| Data table (points x 3) | Table missing, or irrelevant to analysis | Table appropriately summarizes few independent variables | Table appropriately summarizes dependent and key independent variables |
| Formatting | Summary statistics table is unformatted, making interpretation difficult | Summary statistics table is sloppy and/or copied/pasted out of Stata | Summary statistics table is clearly formatted and easy to read |
| Do-file | Do-file missing | Partial do-file, or complete do-file with no documentation | Do-file code to create summary statistics submitted, and well-documented |
| Log-file | Log file missing or in unreadable format | Partial log file included | Log file for summary statistics table included |