Microsoft Word - DACM_Assignment_2.docx
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DACM Assignment #2 for ECO220Y1Y (weight: 4% of course grade)
Due: Before noon on Thursday, April 6, 2023, and submitted via Quercus
Purpose of this Assignment and What You Gain from Working on It
Analysts, researchers, economists, and anyone laboring to make sense of data, must communicate what they
have discovered. Figures, tables, and writing help readers get the message. This assignment gives you a chance
to further your skills in communicating empirical results using a table and writing. In addition, by working to
construct a table yourself and reviewing tables constructed by economists, you deepen your ability as a reader
to understand how economists communicate analyses – employing our course concepts and skills – in academic
journals. This assignment is your opportunity to:
1) Enhance your fluency in applying course concepts to real data and contexts.
2) Showcase your Excel analysis abilities.
3) Sharpen your skills in comprehending tables created by economists.
4) Boost your own ability to communicate via a table and capitalize on readers’ natural attraction to
anything that helps visualize empirical results.
5) Elevate your writing skills. Be clear, co
ect, concise, and coherent.
These are key skills for your other courses and future careers. More immediately, during our final exam you will
draw especially heavily on your skills with 1), 3), and 5) above.
How is the DACM Assignment #2 Different from DACM Assignment #1?
The two DACM assignments are similar in structure. However, unlike Assignment #1, for Assignment #2 you
must include inferential statistics. But, before you get ca
ied away with excessive discussion of P-values and
statistical significance, remember that economists focus the most meaningful discussion on point estimates and
economic significance. Further, after Assignment #1 we studied multiple regression, differences in means, and
differences in proportions. We expect your Assignment #2 to include at least one of these more recent topics.
Your Objectives and Expectations for Your Effort
Using an approved dataset from DACM – on Quercus marked by *** – and methods from ECO220Y and DACM,
do a data analysis. Your analysis must be something that you can capture with a table and discuss. Also, your
analysis must be at least a twist on what appears already in DACM or elsewhere in our course and not simply a
eplication of what has already been done. You may use more than one of the approved datasets if that makes
sense. You do not need to use the same data for Assignments #1 and #2. Your empirical analysis must be
presentable in a well-constructed table. This assignment ends with sample tables to help you gets some ideas.
To earn good marks, your analysis must be sufficiently complex so you can demonstrate the requisite mastery.
Sufficiently complex means using inferential statistics and at least one of these: multiple regression, difference
in means, and/or difference in proportions, as already mentioned above. When appropriate and meaningful,
panels for heterogeneity analysis or multiple ways to measure an effect can also add useful complexity. Of
course, complicating things unnecessarily and without a clear purpose is not helpful to your assignment.
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In several short paragraphs, offer a clear explanation of what we can learn from your analysis and table. Give the
necessary context and co
ectly apply relevant course concepts.
Imagine your audience is your peers who have some training in economics and statistics. You are expected to
clearly explain your analysis, table, and take-away message and not put the burden on the reader.
Create a great title – like a headline it should succinctly convey your findings – and title your table too. Your
primary submission – the title, writing, and table – must fit on one side of one page. On the second page, itemize
the steps in Excel to replicate your findings and list the tables that inspired you.
Spend about eight to ten hours on this assignment. This gives time to read and review this assignment and
sample tables, do your analysis, construct your table, write a discussion, revise both, and itemize the replication
steps in Excel and the inspiring tables. This is a mini project, and it is not expected to take days of your time.
Formatting Requirements for Your Assignment
From your first to final draft, use Microsoft Word with file type .docx and portrait orientation, not
landscape. The table and text must be created in Word: do not use images or screenshots.
The first page has your title, paragraphs, and table. All should comfortably fit on one side of one page.
We do not dictate fonts, margins, and spacing, but it must comfortably fit and be visually appealing.
The second page gives succinct, yet clear, bullet lists of replication steps and tables. For replication, the
first step is: open tba.xlsx, where “tba” is the selected DACM dataset marked by *** in Quercus. For
inspiring tables, list clearly. For example, from Denning et al. (2022): “Table 6 – GPA Differences.”
Do NOT include a cover page. Do NOT write your name and student number.
For how to be concise, and not wordy, see https:
advice.writing.utoronto.ca
evising/wordiness/.
Your Steps to Complete this Assignment
To help
eak down this assignment into doable steps, you may find this helpful:
1) Carefully read this assignment: it is five pages and is packed with critical information for your success.
2) Browse through all the sample tables at the end of this assignment – they are on Quercus.
o Jot down your ideas.
3) Browse through the approved (***) DACM data sets on Quercus.
o Jot down your ideas.
4) Pick a data set and try doing some analysis in Excel with it.
5) On a piece of paper using pencil and an eraser or on your tablet, sketch out a table you have in mind.
6) Revise your analysis and revise your sketch of a table.
7) Repeat step 1). Now that you have done some hard work, questions will occur to you. They are likely
answered in this assignment. A second read is helpful at this point.
8) Create a Microsoft Word document.
9) Write your replication steps and double-check your analysis for co
ectness and any further revisions.
10) Construct your table in Microsoft Word.
11) Write your discussion.
12) Write your title.
13) Revise your table to improve its ability to communicate.
14) Revise your discussion and title to improve clarity, co
ectness, conciseness, and coherence.
15) Submit to Quercus well before the deadline and make sure your assignment looks as intended. If not, fix
formatting issues and resubmit before the deadline.
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How We Mark Your Assignment: The Ru
ics
There are 20 points possible. A second table explains “Excellent,” “Good,” “Adequate,” “Flawed,” and “Fail.”1
CATEGORY: Criteria Mark
TABLE: Conveys a co
ect message/analysis that is sufficiently
complex. Is well labelled and is clear on its own. Overall, adheres to
the norms of substantive tables in academic research. Is well
constructed and communicates effectively.
6.0
Excellent
4.8
Good
3.6
Adequate
3.0
Flawed
1.8
Fail
DISCUSSION: Co
ect and substantive discussion of the findings and
table. Gives needed context. Co
ectly applies relevant course
concepts. Supports the message with thorough and insightful
supporting evidence.
6.0
Excellent
4.8
Good
3.6
Adequate
3.0
Flawed
1.8
Fail
OVERALL PRESENTATION: Gives a clear and coherent message that
the reader easily understands. Uses effective titles. Writing is
concise and not wordy. Is visually appealing. Is free of typos and
formatting issues. Follows all instructions.
4.0
Excellent
3.2
Good
2.4
Adequate
2.0
Flawed
1.2
Fail
REPLICATION: Clear, accurate, complete, and succinct replication
steps for a substantive analysis in Excel. Lists inspiring tables.
4.0
Excellent
3.2
Good
2.4
Adequate
2.0
Flawed
1.2
Fail
Mark: Meaning Short Meaning Long
Excellent: Clearly meets, or
exceeds, all criteria.
Demonstrates a thorough understanding of relevant concepts and mastery of relevant
analysis skills. Application of knowledge and skills is highly effective and any minor e
ors
and/or omissions do not detract from the overall impact.
Good: Meets important
criteria.
Demonstrates considerable understanding of relevant concepts and good proficiency with
elevant analysis skills. Application of knowledge and skills is considerably effective.
Adequate: Approaches
meeting important criteria.
Demonstrates some understanding of relevant concepts and some proficiency with
elevant analysis skills. Application of knowledge and skills is moderately effective.
Flawed: Falls short of
important criteria but shows
progress towards them.
Demonstrates limited understanding of relevant concepts and limited proficiency with
elevant analysis skills. Application of knowledge and skills is slightly effective. There is
evidence of progress towards understanding and proficiency, but overall falls short.
Fail: Insufficient progress
towards important criteria.
Demonstrates insufficient understanding of relevant concepts and insufficient proficiency
with relevant analysis skills. Application of knowledge and skills is ineffective.
Uphold Your Academic Integrity
Submit your own work. Collaboration is not allowed. While you may use services provided by University of
Toronto, you may not use tutoring, editing, or other services of individuals or other organizations. You may not
use generative artificial intelligence, such as chat bots, or any tool that produces writing that is not yours.
Ouriginal – a plagiarism detection tool – assesses your submission. Avoid plagiarism:
https:
advice.writing.utoronto.ca/using-sources/how-not-to-plagiarize/. TAs also assess integrity. If it appears
that any empirical results are made up (i.e. fake), beyond a mark of zero for failing to meet the assignment
expectations, we alert Student Academic Integrity (SAI) https:
www.artsci.utoronto.ca/cu
ent/academic-
advising-and-support/student-academic-integrity. Similarly, we alert SAI of all academic integrity concerns.
1 Adapted from the “Generic Ru
ic – Mathematics – Open Response (Grade 9)” from the Education Quality and
Accountability Office, retrieved from https:
www.eqao.com/the-assessments/math-open-response-g9/ on July 27, 2022.
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Your Submission Window and Penalties for Lateness
You receive this assignment at 11am on Thursday, March 9, 2023. It is due before noon on Thursday, April 6,
2023. The four-week submission window for this short two-page assignment accommodates all issues. Do not
wait until near the end of the window to finish, leaving no time for unexpected situations affecting your ability
to finish. There are no extensions. A late penalty of 1 percent (of the maximum possible points) per hour is
automatically applied by Quercus. Submit your assignment at least a week before the deadline. We set Quercus
to allow you to resubmit. Hence, before the deadline, you can upload a revised and refined version. We only
mark (or even look at) the most recent submission. If you resubmit after the deadline, late penalties apply.
Some Advice for You
Do something that interests you. You may think of this as a mini-mini research paper. If that is daunting rather
than exciting, tackle a concept/skill that has challenged you and create a primer demonstrating your mastery.
You have some flexibility in your use of space. You may create a large table (e.g. two-thirds of a page) that is so
well-designed that it almost explains it all with shorter paragraphs underscoring the conclusions. Alternatively,
you may create a small table (e.g. one-third of a page) with more extensive paragraphs.
Exceeding the length parameters will substantially worsen your assignment, not make it better. Make strategic
decisions about where to focus the reader’s attention. Long research papers are routinely distilled to one page
in the NBER Digest. It is an important skill to be concise and judicious. Do not use small fonts and tight margins.
For tables with multiple panels or variations on a theme, researchers often explain one set of results in detail. Do
not plod through results in your table: if the writing is repetitive and tedious, it needs revision. If the take-away
is similar, just say that. In contrast, if results are notably different, it is important to point out those differences.
Make your table sing! Seasoned researchers often first read the title and abstract of an empirical paper and then
skip ahead to the tables. While you are not off the hook for supporting text, the table itself should tell a story. It
is an important opportunity to communicate your message.
Get started! A first draft is