Research Paper

 Research Paper: This is a graduate course and students will be expected to research and write papers summarizing in their own words what they have found on current topics from the weekly readings. Research is a theoretical review of relevant literature and application of findings in the literature to a topic related to a specific industry, field, or business problem. The research must be conducted using peer-reviewed trade or academic journals. While Blogs, Wikipedia, encyclopedias, course textbooks, popular magazines, newspaper articles, online websites, etc. are helpful for providing background information, these resources are NOT suitable resources for this research assignment. Please Note: The UC Library staff are very helpful with assisting students in using the UC Online Library journal database. Please contact them if you have issues. In addition, the instructor has provided additional resources, including a research tutorial, in the “Course Resources” folder in the “Content” area of the course. Assignment Requirements:

1. Choose a research topic from the chapter readings or from the list provided by your professor.
2. Research/find a minimum at least four (4), preferably five (5) or more, different peer-reviewed articles on your topic from the University of the Cumberlands Library online business database. The article(s) must be relevant and from a peer-reviewed source. While you may use relevant articles from any time frame, current/published within the last five (5) years are preferred. Using literature that is irrelevant or unrelated to the chosen topic will result in a point reduction.
3. Write a four (4) to five (5) page double spaced paper in APA format discussing the findings on your specific topic in your own words. Note – paper length does not include cover page, abstract, or references page(s).
4. Structure your paper as follows:

   Cover page
   Overview describing the importance of the research topic to current business and professional practice in your own words.
   Purpose of Research should reflect  the potential benefit of the topic to the current business and professional practice and the larger body of research.
   Review of the Literature summarized in your own words. Note that this should not be a “copy and paste” of literature content, nor should this section be substantially filled with direct quotes from the article. A literature review is a summary of the major points and findings of each of the selected articles (with appropriate citations). Direct quotations should be used sparingly. Normally, this will be the largest section of your paper (this is not a requirement; just a general observation).
   Practical Application of the literature. Describe how your findings from the relevant research literature can shape, inform, and improve current business and professional practice related to your chosen topic.
   Conclusion in your own words
   References formatted according to APA style requirements

Grading Criteria:

• Content Knowledge & Structure (25 points): All of the requested components are completed as assigned; content is on topic and related to managerial economics, critical thinking is clearly demonstrated (few, if any, direct quotations from the source in the paper); scholarly research is demonstrated; topics and concepts gained from the assigned reading and/or from research is evident.
• Critical Thinking (15 points): Demonstrates substantial critical thinking about topics and solid interpretation of materials and reflection.
• Clarity & Effective Communication (15 points): Communication is clear, concise, and well presented; scholarly writing is demonstrated; grammar, sentence structure, writing in third person, and word choice is used correctly.
• Integration of Knowledge & Articles (15 points): Articles used are current and relevant (preferably published within last five (5) years and MUST be from peer-reviewed journal article publications. At least four (4) peer-reviewed journal articles are examined and analyzed in the paper.
• Presentation & Writing Mechanics (30 points): Cover page, headings, in-text citations, page citations (page number citations required for specific information such as dates, years, list of items from article, names, numbers, statistics, and other specific information), and references are properly formatted.

Please Note: Plagiarism will not be tolerated. The paper must be written in your own words. 

Week Four: Research Paper – List of potential research topics

To complete the Article Research Paper due in Week 4, please select a topic from the list

provided below or from the chapter readings.

 The benefits of a free enterprise system.

 Capitalism and free trade are crucial foundations for freedom from poverty.

 Voluntary transactions create wealth by moving assets from lower- to higher-valued uses.

 Anything that impedes the movement of assets to higher-valued uses, like taxes,

subsidies, or price controls, destroys wealth.

 Each inefficiency implies a money-making opportunity.

 The art of business consists of finding an asset in lower-valued use and devising ways to

profitably move it to higher-valued one.

 A company can be thought of as a series of transactions.

 Costs are associated with decisions.

 Opportunity cost

 These are the relevant costs and relevant benefits of a decision.

 Accounting profit does not necessarily correspond to economic profit.

 A good incentive compensation scheme links pay to performance measures that reflect

effort.

 All investment decisions involve a trade-off between current sacrifice and future gain.

 Companies, like individuals, have different discount rates, determined by their cost of

capital.

 Net Present Value (NPV)

 Sunk costs

 Post-investment hold-up

 Price elasticity of demand

 Law of diminishing marginal returns

 Increasing returns to scale

 Economies of scale

 Diseconomies of scale.

 Learning curves

 Market Equilibrium

 Competitive industry

 Mean reversion

 Compensating wage differentials

 Monopoly

 The industrial organization economics (IO) perspective assumes that the industry

structure is the most important determinant of long-run profitability.

 The Five Forces model is a framework for analyzing the attractiveness of an industry.

 According to the resource-based view (RBV), individual firms may exhibit sustained

performance advantages because of their superior resources.

 To stay one step ahead of the forces of competition, a firm can adopt one of three basic

strategies: cost reduction, product differentiation, or reduction in the intensity of

competition.

 Foreign exchange market

 Devaluations help domestic producers and foreign consumers, but hurt domestic

consumers and foreign producers.

 Psychological biases suggest being aware of price expectations and “framing” price

changes as gains rather than as losses.

 Price discrimination

 Arbitrage

 If a seller can identify two groups of consumers with different demand elasticities and

can prevent arbitrage between the groups, it can increase profit by charging a higher price

to the low-elasticity group.

 Game Theory

 Common-value auction,

 Winner’s curse

 Moral hazard

 Transfer Pricing

Research Paper: This is a graduate course and students will be expected to research and write

papers summarizing in their own words what they have found on current topics from the weekly

readings. Research is a theoretical review of relevant literature and application of findings in the

literature to a topic related to a specific industry, field, or business problem.

The research must be conducted using peer-reviewed trade or academic journals. While

Blogs, Wikipedia, encyclopedias, course textbooks, popular magazines, newspaper articles,

online websites, etc. are helpful for providing background information, these resources

are NOT suitable resources for this research assignment.

Please Note: The UC Library staff are very helpful with assisting students in using the UC

Online Library journal database. Please contact them if you have issues. In addition, the

instructor has provided additional resources, including a research tutorial, in the “Course

Resources” folder in the “Content” area of the course.

Assignment Requirements:

i. Choose a research topic from the chapter readings or from the list provided by your

professor.

ii. Research/find a minimum at least four (4), preferably five (5) or more, different peer-

reviewed articles on your topic from the University of the Cumberlands Library online

business database. The article(s) must be relevant and from a peer-reviewed source.

While you may use relevant articles from any time frame, current/published within the

last five (5) years are preferred. Using literature that is irrelevant or unrelated to the

chosen topic will result in a point reduction.

iii. Write a four (4) to five (5) page double spaced paper in APA format discussing the

findings on your specific topic in your own words. Note – paper length does not include

cover page, abstract, or references page(s).

iv. Structure your paper as follows:

a. Cover page

b. Overview describing the importance of the research topic to current business and

professional practice in your own words.

c. Purpose of Research should reflect the potential benefit of the topic to the

current business and professional practice and the larger body of research.

d. Review of the Literature summarized in your own words. Note that this should

not be a “copy and paste” of literature content, nor should this section be

substantially filled with direct quotes from the article. A literature review is a

summary of the major points and findings of each of the selected articles (with

appropriate citations). Direct quotations should be used sparingly. Normally, this

will be the largest section of your paper (this is not a requirement; just a general

observation).

e. Practical Application of the literature. Describe how your findings from the

relevant research literature can shape, inform, and improve current business and

professional practice related to your chosen topic.

f. Conclusion in your own words

g. References formatted according to APA style requirements

Grading Criteria:

 Content Knowledge & Structure (25 points): All of the requested components are

completed as assigned; content is on topic and related to managerial economics, critical

thinking is clearly demonstrated (few, if any, direct quotations from the source in the

paper); scholarly research is demonstrated; topics and concepts gained from the assigned

reading and/or from research is evident.

 Critical Thinking (15 points): Demonstrates substantial critical thinking about topics and

solid interpretation of materials and reflection.

 Clarity & Effective Communication (15 points): Communication is clear, concise, and

well presented; scholarly writing is demonstrated; grammar, sentence structure, writing in

third person, and word choice is used correctly.

 Integration of Knowledge & Articles (15 points): Articles used are current and relevant

(preferably published within last five (5) years and MUST be from peer-reviewed journal

article publications. At least four (4) peer-reviewed journal articles are examined and

analyzed in the paper.

 Presentation & Writing Mechanics (30 points): Cover page, headings, in-text citations,

page citations (page number citations required for specific information such as dates,

years, list of items from article, names, numbers, statistics, and other specific

information), and references are properly formatted.

Please Note: Plagiarism will not be tolerated. The paper must be written in your own words.