Spring 2012, MA course in

 

Scientific Writing and Publishing
(download as pdf)

Course Description

This course addresses students considering a scientific career in economics. The course provides a general overview rather than coaching students in writing a specific paper. The entire process of scientific writing and publishing will be covered. Although the course is of interest to various scientific fields, applications will be drawn from economics.

The course addresses the following questions:

What is a “scientific publication”? Why publish? What makes a paper “publishable” in a good journal? How do referees and editors look at papers? How to write a scientific paper? What could be a promising strategy for submission? What are the right journals for my paper? How should I read, understand and deal with referee reports? How can I be a good referee? Which norms and rules must I observe?

 

Requirements and Grading:

a)   20% for active participation in classroom discussions

b)   30% for writing a referee report along with a cover letter to “the editor” on a paper I suggest (or some paper of your suggestion). Deadline: April 19, 2012 (24:00)

c)   50% for final paper. Students write a paper on a topic of their choice consisting of (i) title page including abstract of 100 words and JEL-codes, (ii) introduction of max. 2.5 pages, and (iii) references mentioned in the introduction (max. 1 page).
Deadline: June 13, 2012 (24:00)

 

Times and Places

      We meet twice on Friday/Saturday from 09:15-16:00 as follows.
Part I: Friday, March 23 (room 22-204) and Saturday March 24 (room 01-112)
Part II: Friday, April 27 (room 22-204) and Saturday April 28 (room 01-112)