Communication is FUNDAMENTAL to good research.
Communication in writing, visualizing, and speaking deserves as much effort as your analysis. The ‘there’ there, such as, getting your model to converge and using the best identification possible is necessary but not sufficient for a kick-ass paper.
PS: For money/macro folks, I will amp up the need. We’ve got forward guidance now (wow, poor words can eff things up) and abstract technical advice isn’t accepted by policy makers or citizens (amen, we economists aren’t primary ones on the receiving end).
Good ideas do not rise to the top on their own, nor do bad ones automatically fall.
I wrote this post for doctoral candidates in economics, finishing up their job market papers. Your papers are going to get you a job (remember you only need one, so take a deep breath and stay OFF ‘that’ website). Equally important, you will meet many researchers on the job market who you will see time and again. They are important to your intellectual long run, even if you never work down the hall.
My post starts with general advice on 1) communication, 2) writing, and on 3) charts and tables. I then turn to specific advice for job market candidates. My tips are ones that ‘I think’ are most important. My list is not exhaustive. You need to be writing and editing and editing and editing (and sleeping and taking care of yourself), not reading blogs.
GENERAL COMMUNICATION
- Know your audience. Respect them by talking WITH them in a way THEY can understand. When your audience changes, you must change your approach.
- Simple is hard but simple is better. Say what you need to say and no more.
- Tell us the punchline not your slog to it. Do NOT share your thought process (don’t want to be in your head) or down the yellow brick road to your results.
GENERAL WRITING
- Your abstract and introduction are the most important parts of your paper. If you put readers to sleep or piss them off, you’ve done yourself a disservice.
- A good structure for an introduction (a modified modified version of Keith Head’s):
- Motivation. The motivation must appeal to a general audience. Why the eff should I read your paper? And no, a delta on a prior paper, ain’t gonna cut it.
- Research Question. EVERY paper must clearly state the research question it will ANSWER. “This paper answers the question … ” is a great sentence.
- Contribution. What are you adding to our body of knowledge? Be wary of tossing “first” around casually. We stand on shoulders of those who came before. Don’t piss them off or they may throw you, Yertle-the-Turtle style.
- Methods. How did you do it? What are the amazing things that you did to get your amazing results. Don’t go overboard but assure us you know your shit.
- Results. What did you find? Most important results go first. Do not ‘build suspense’ with intermediate findings.
- Robustness. Pointless reality, in my opinion, in our papers now. Even so, make clear that you have stress tested your main results.
- Your abstract and introduction must be able to stand alone and convey the message of your paper. Have multiple people, including some family and friends who are not economists, read them. Avoid the offensive and the inscrutable.
GENERAL CHARTS AND TABLES
- Charts and tables must be able to stand alone. Some people will read them and nothing other than your abstract and introduction.
- Have a “money chart” that makes your main finding pop. Most people think well in pictures and you want to be memorable (in a good way).
- Print your paper in black and white. Charts must not require on a color printer.
JOB MARKET COMMUNICATION
- Your audience will NOT all be experts in your field. At some interviews, they may not even all be economists. Guess, what? They have a say on whether you’ll be a future colleague. Talk to everyone in the room not just that person you cited.
- Be kind to the ‘old people,’ that is, anyone more than three years out of grad school. Do NOT be obnoxious about it, by calling attention to what we don’t know. You’ll learn a ton from us too.
- PRACTICE out loud over and over again. Timing matters. Get to YOUR RESULTS. Move briskly through literature and only cover papers relevant to YOUR paper.
JOB MARKET WRITING
- Did you need to say everything you said and did you miss anything? Check that each paragraph has a topic sentence (ideally the first). If you string all of these together: is the flow choppy, any super-hero leaps, or repeats? Fix it.
- Compact, strong writing is a godsend. I love reading cool research papers from the next generation, but even my heart sinks when I print out 20 job market papers averaging 70+ pages. Efficient writing takes effort and it’s worth it.
- Do not be wishy washy. If you do not believe in your research NO ONE will. Don’t get ahead of your skis, but don’t apologize for what you couldn’t do. Every data set is flawed. Every identification strategy hinges on some suspension of disbelief. Finally, your first paper, happily, will not be your best one. Be proud.
JOB MARKET CHARTS AND TABLES
- Charts and tables must be able to stand alone. I repeat: Some people will read them and nothing other than your abstract and introduction. More likely on job market (many papers to read) than at journals (if not, shame on your lazy referee).
- Invest time in making your charts compelling. And for the love of god, no canned Stata or R charts. In addition, don’t make me get out my magnifying glass.
- Tables should be not be a sea of numbers. Use scaling, like thousands of employees or billions of dollars. Show point estimates that matter and not every kitchen-sink covariate. False precision is annoying. Don’t annoy people.
Happy writing!
I can’t wait to read your interesting papers. We have so much to learn from you.
