Due dates
A clear thesis statement is due Wednesday, March 13, the date of the midterm exam. This should consist of one to four sentences and present a clear thesis statement or research question around which the paper will be organized. An ungraded rough draft should be turned in April 15 and the final paper is due May 6. Late papers will be accepted with 2% deducted per day up until May 11 at midnight.
It is required to meet with me to discuss your topic. You can sign up for a time here. Please let me know if none of the available times works for you.
Rubric
Following is a draft of the rubric to help you understand how the paper will be graded.
| Introduction and conclusion | Introduction explains importance of topic. Includes a clearly identifiable statement of the research question. Conclusion reiterates the research question and explains how the paper answered the question and the papers main points. (20) | Introduction and/or conclusion are insufficient to give a high-level understanding of the point of the paper. (0) | ||||
| Structure of paper | Paper structure is clear, so the reader understands how the content of each paragraph fits into the paper in general. Usually this is achieved through clear headings and subheadings for sections. Paragraphs generally fit under the appropriate subheading. (10) | Paper flow is broken or contains significant sections which break the flow of the paper. (0) | ||||
| Understanding of literature or data | Review of existing literature clearly identifies the research question and conclusion of cited sources. Differences between sources are delineated and implications of sources for this paper are clear. Literature or Data is summarized with a table or diagram. (20) | Review of existing literature clearly identifies the research question and conclusion of cited sources. Differences between sources are delineated and implications of sources for this paper are clear. No data or literature review visualizations are included(15) | Literature review is over-basic, nuances in the sources are ignored. Literature reviewed has obvious holes where more research should have been included. (10) | Paper shows clear misunderstanding of more than one of the sources discussed and literature review contains significant gaps (0) | ||
| Use of evidence to support research question | Argument in the paper is clear flows in the writing. Supporting evidence for argument is accurately identified from literature or data. Evidence which does not support argument is clearly understood and discussed and limitations of paper are identified. (20) | Argument in the paper flows in the writing. Supporting evidence for argument is accurately identified from literature or data. Evidence which does not support argument and/or limitations of the paper are ignored. (10) | Paper draws conclusions which are not clearly supported by the evidence identified. (0) | |||
| Spelling and grammar | Perfect grammar and spelling is ideal but errors are understandable. Introduction and conclusion should be error free or nearly so. Errors in the content should be minimized so that the reader is not distracted (10) | Spelling and/or grammar errors distract the reader but rarely if ever effects reader understanding. (5) | Spelling and/or grammar is a consistent problem which affects readability and reader understanding. | |||
| Sources and Citations | 6 or more academic sources, all cited correctly using same style (Chicago or APA preferred) (10) | 6 or more academic sources, noticeable errors in citation style (8) | 3 – 5 academic sources, all cited using same style (Chicago or APA preferred) (6) | 3-5 academic sources, noticeable errors in citation style (4) | 2 or fewer sources (0) | |
| Turned in on time: | Turned in May 6 (10) | May 7 (8) | May 8 (6) | May 9 (4) | May 10(2) | May 11 (0) |
Thesis statement/research question
One way to frame a thesis statement, which can be useful for the first one or two paragraphs of a paper, is to present the broad area of research and the purpose of the paper (for instance, the politics of social security reform in 1991/1992). Then tell the reader the purpose of the research (for instance, this paper examines the how and why of proposals for reform in 1991/1992). Then present the research question (for instance, how did the Ross Perot presidential campaign change the debate about social security and what permanent policy and political effects did that have?) This format may not always work, but it is useful for you to think about whether or not your research topic is interesting (what is the broad area of research) and is specific (does it asks a question that can be answered).
Rough draft
In order to assess your progress, I am asking that you turn in a rough draft of your work about 3 weeks before the final paper is due. I assume you will already have some work done, and you should feel free to send me whatever you have, so long as it meets the minimum criteria of being two pages long and being sufficiently well-formed to express the structure of the paper or how you are going to answer the questions.
Final draft
Format
A good paper should be as long as it needs to be. It should include the number of charts and tables that it needs. It should include the number of references that it needs. If your paper is very different from these guidelines, that may be because writing a good paper about your topic requires some adjustment, but it may be a sign that there is a problem. That said, I expect the paper to be between 5 and 15 pages 2x or 1.5x spaced. If you go long, that is fine, but if you go over 20 pages, let me know in advance and tell me why. It may be the case that you should focus more and we might discuss that.
I expect you to use at least 3 academic sources or primary data sources in your main argument. The data of your paper is likely to be the existing research, and the data should consist at least in a substantial part in works outside of the popular press. That doesn’t mean you can’t use popular press, but official or academic publications should be used to ensure some degree of rigor and impartiality. By main argument, I mean that these sources should be used to support your argument, not merely as a part of a review of existing literature.
Some information is best presented as a chart or table and I encourage the use of charts and tables.
Structure
Make things easy on the reader. Use section headers. Don’t write run-on sentences or over-long paragraphs. Your paper should follow the principle of, “In the first part I tell ’em what I am going to tell ’em; in the second part—well, I tell ’em; in the third part I tell ’em what I’ve told ’em.” That is, an introduction and conclusion section should be included.
On top of that, there should be a literature review section near the beginning of the paper and a discussion section near the end. The literature review should discuss recent, similar papers or articles in the academic and possibly popular press. The discussion may include your opinions on the meaning of what your found, policy implications, and/or new questions your research uncovered.
The main body of your paper will likely include the facts of the issue and how those facts inform your research question. It may include a discussion of the model used to address the question (for instance, you may discuss a social science approach or a way of organizing data). It may also include a discussion of how you chose and found your data (for instance, if you are comparing and contrasting a set of policies, how did you chose those policies and how did you come up with principles used to compare them).
Sources
I expect to see at least 6 sources. Sources should be published by reputable academic publishers (university publishers for books or academic journal articles). I recommend using google scholar to facilitate your search for sources. When you have found an article, you might consider looking at articles it cites or articles which cite it for more sources. Google scholar has a feature which allows you to see other articles which cite an article, which I recommend.
Sample Paper Topics
According to https://www.oyez.org/cases/, about one insurance case is seen by the Supreme Court every year. Of those seen in the past two years and those that will be seen in the coming year, what are the likely outcomes if the makeup of the court were more conservative or liberal than it currently is. How would those changes affect consumers?
Explain how pooling and seperating equilibrium work in theory and in practice in insurance markets.
In 2009, AIG recieved a government bailout. Describe the company’s situation leading up to, during, and following the crisis. How were insurance policies affected? How was the business affected?
The Affordable Care Act created new regulations for health insurance policies such as a requirement to cover pre-existing conditions. How have one or more of these new regulations affected insurance companies and policy holders?
Write a short biography of a senior insurance executive at a large insurance company. Or of a senior beaurocrat at CMS or in insurance-focused parts of HHS.
Was the formation of Medicare and Medicaid inevitable in 1965? Why weren’t they formed sooner? Could the legislation have failed and if so, would similar programs have been created in the following years/decades?
What is the financial viability of Medicare over the next 25, 50, and 100 years? What are likely cost and financing trajectories?
How much beaurocratic overhead and how large of administrative costs exists in insurance and medicine in countries with universal health coverage? How does this inform the possible growth in administrative costs and beaurocracy in America as coverage rates approach 100% here?
Vermont recently signed legislation for a single-payer program in that state. How might state based single-payer programs work in oher states and in Connecticut?
Should private health insurance plans have to cover pre-existing conditions? What is the history of this issue? What are the arguments for and against this issue today?
How has insurance regulation discriminated against different groups or individuals? For instance, has regulation discriminated against ethnic or sexual minorities? against women? against people who are disabled? against non-US citizens working in the US?