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GU-Q: IPOL 430: Political Economy of the Gulf

Final Paper Research and Writing Mandatory Appointments

Remember: The Library and the Writing Center are here to help you excel with your assignments.

During the week of Oct. 8-11, 2017, Prof. Nonneman requires you to book an appointment with Robert Laws to ensure that you have identified the best possible resources for your paper. Drop by Robert's office 1B13 to book your time. 

You are also required to have your draft checked by the Writing Center staff. Use their booking link as usual. 

The Literature Review - Helps you get started with your research

A Literature review has two functions:

  • Demonstrate that you are aware of others’ work in this area and to guide the reader to these works.
  • Based on those papers, demonstrate to the reader how your research is original.

For each of the assigned papers, answer the following questions and fill out a synthesis matrix:

  1. What's the main hypothesis?
  2. What's the economic theory behind it?
  3. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the data used?
  4. What is the estimation /identification problem?
  5. What method(s) do the authors use to overcome this problem?
  6. Does the method overcome the problem? Why or why not?
  7. What are the findings?
  8. Link this paper to your own idea and build your argument upon this paper.

Synthesis Matrix

A synthesis matrix helps you record the main points of each source and document how sources relate to each other.

Literature Review: Synthesizing Multiple Sources

Writing a Literature Review & Using a Synthesis Matrix

Use this matrix template

Using a Matrix to Organize Research: (Saint Mary's University of Minnesota)