rws

• Book Review


  It is both a description and an evaluation of a book
• Four stages in writing a review/critique


  1. Before you read (considering the elements)

  2. As you read (paying attention to details)

  3. Writing the review (writing proper)

  4. Revising (making changes or doing some modifications to finalize the paper)
• Characteristics of an effective book/article critique


  • Must report what the book/article does
  • Must judge how well the author has done his/her job
  • Must provide enough evidence from the book/article itself to support or illustrate judgment
  • Must fair in his evaluation. Personal prejudices should NOT come in the way of the book/article appraisal
• When analysing markets, a range of assumptions are made about the rationality of economic agents involved in the transactions
• The Wealth of Nations was written

  1776
• Rational


  (in classical economic theory) economic agents are able to consider the outcome of their choices and recognise the net benefits of each one
• Rational agents will select the choice which presents the highest benefits
• Consumers act rationally by


  Maximising their utility
• Research report


  An expanded paper that presents interpretations and analyses of a phenomenon based on experiments and previous information so that the readers can better understand it
• Producers act rationally by


  Selling goods/services in a way that maximises their profits
• Unique features and requirements in composing a research report

  • Identify
  • Produce
• Workers act rationally by


  Balancing welfare at work with consideration of both pay and benefits
• A research report is an expanded paper that presents interpretations and analyses of a phenomenon based on experiments and previous information so that the readers can better understand it
• Title Page


  Contains an informative title that describes the content of the paper, the name of author/s, addresses or affiliations, and date of submission
• Governments act rationally by

  Placing the interests of the people they serve first in order to maximise their welfare
• Rationality in classical economic theory is a flawed assumption as people usually don't act rationally
• Examples of an informative title


  • Effects of Facebook on the Academic Achievement of first Year Students
  • Development and Validation of a Software for Detecting Plagiarism
• A firm increases advertising

  Demand curve shifts right
• Abstract


  Contains the summary of the research findings and conclusions. It briefly presents the context of the study, research questions or objectives, methodology, major findings, conclusions, and sometimes implications
• Marginal utility


  The additional utility (satisfaction) gained from the consumption of an additional product
• Introduction


  Explains the current state of the field and identifies research gaps. It is also the part where the research focus is presented by addressing the identified gaps in the topic. It puts the research topic in context
• If you add up marginal utility for each unit you get total utility
• Literature Review


  Contains the summary and synthesis of all available sources directly related to the study. In a research report, the literature review is divided into two sections: related concepts and related studies
• Methodology


  Describes how the experiments or tests in the research were conducted. It presents the context within which the study was conducted, the participants, the instruments used, data gathering procedure, and the data analysis. In discussing the context of the study and the participants, the number and the demographic profiles of the participants are explained as well as the place where the study was conducted
• Results


  Factually describes the data gathered and the tables and graphs that summarize the collected data
• Discussion

  Provides an explanation of all the results in relation to the previous studies presented in the literature review
• Conclusion


  Contains the restatement of the major findings, the limitations of the study, the recommendations, and the implications
• References


  Contains the different sources used in the study. These may be academic books, journals, and other online sources
• Steps in writing a research report

  1. Select and narrow down the topic

  2. Conduct a preliminary research by gathering the initial references

  3. Formulate the thesis statement and research questions

  4. Prepare a preliminary outline

  5. Gather additional references

  6. Prepare the pre-final outline

  7. Prepare your instruments, such as your questionnaire

  8. Implement the instrument and gather the data

  9. Analyze the collected data and interpret it through tables and graphs

  10. Write the methodology and result sections

  11. Write the introduction and literature review

  12. Write the discussion

  13. Write the conclusion

  14. Prepare the reference list

  15. Edit and format your paper
• Fifty to seventy-five percent of the paper should be devoted to results and discussion
• Project proposal


  A highly persuasive and informative document that aims to address a particular problem or issue
• Be sure to cite all your sources whether they are paraphrased or directly quoted
• Project proposal


  • Specifies the goals and objectives the project wants to accomplish
  • Specifies the project plan that details how the set goals and objectives will be accomplished
  • Specifies the financial, human, and technical resources useful in implementing the project
  • Specifies the budget that details how much money is needed and for what purpose it will be spent
• As with the previous types of written works, use direct quotations sparingly; paraphrase as much as possible
• Types of project proposal


  • Solicited internal
  • Unsolicited internal
  • Solicited external
  • Unsolicited external
• Strictly follow the required documentation style
• Topics should be relevant, interesting, current, and manageable in terms of resources, skills needed, and time
• Parts of a project proposal


  • Cover letter
  • Title page
  • Abstract or executive summary
  • Context of the proposal
  • Project justification
  • Persons involved
  • Project implementation
  • Budget
  • Monitoring and evaluation
  • Reporting scheme
  • Conclusion
  • References
• Research questions should directly address the given topic or thesis statement
• There has been a massive increase in the use of personal mobile phones over the past five years and there is every indication that this will continue