Purpose:
 This assignment has multiple purposes. It will help you develop important business skills, such
as research and independent work, and it will help strengthen your understanding of an economic subject
you find particularly interesting.

Subject: 
Chosen from a list created by you, with input from the instructor. You should come up with
several possible subjects in case your favorite is not suitable (usually due to being too broad for a short
paper or too little-known for research material to be available).

Length: ~
1500-2000 words (3-4 typed pages).
Sources: 
At least five reputable sources
 
must be cited
, including at least one from a peer-reviewed source.
Reputable sources means respected media or journal rep
orts, and generally from sources without a
material interest in the subject. Not acceptable sources include general websites, blogs, aggregators, or
information clearing-houses; Wikipedia, About.com, or Yahoo will not suffice as reputable sources. Also,
do
n’t site a
 search engines, like EBSCO. Instead, cite articles or book titles. Any professional citation
style is acceptable, but it must be used correctly and consistently.

Mechanics: 
The papers will not be graded on mechanics (spelling, grammar, etc) unless mechanical

problems are so persistent as to reduce the paper’s readability.

Credit: The paper is worth 100 points total; papers will be graded on research, use of citations, andclearness of writing.

Plan:
 Develop a list of 3-5 potential subjects to research; you will communicate with the instructor
through email to confirm the suitability of your subject. Papers will be due 
November 22nd
.

Subject criteria:
 
Good subjects for research papers are not too general, like
Outsourcing
, but are also
not too specific, like
Corporate Marginal Tax Rates 1990-
1992. Try to come up with several topics
you’d be interested in enough to write 
a simple paper about. You should have at least two potential
subjects, in case your first choice is
n’t quite right.