How to write an empirical research paper

1. Nivine Richie, Ph.D., CFA
Associate Professor of Finance
Cameron Hall 220-K
richien@uncw.edu

2. Research Paper Elements
Introduction
Literature Review
Hypotheses
Data and Methodology
Results
Conclusions

3. Research Paper Elements
Introduction
Literature Review
Hypotheses
Data and Methodology
Results
Conclusions

4. Introduction
This section outlines the research
question and the motivation for the
study.
Why are we studying this?
Why should the reader care?
This section also tells the reader the
key results.

5. Sample Introduction
Murdock, M. and Richie, N., 2008, The United States Oil Fund as a hedging
instrument, Journal of Asset Management, 9, 333-346.

6. Research Paper Elements
Introduction
Literature Review
Hypotheses
Data and Methodology
Results
Conclusions

7. Literature Review
What have others already
accomplished in this area?
What has prior literature already
established?
The literature review is written “essay”
style with prior research grouped by
topic or common theme.

8. Sample Literature Review
Madura, J., Ngo, T., and Richie, N., 2009, Takeovers of targets lacking analyst
coverage, International Journal of Corporate Governance, 1 (3), 298-314.

9. Research Paper Elements
Introduction
Literature Review
Hypotheses
Data and Methodology
Results
Conclusions

10. Hypotheses
What are we expecting to find?
These are built on prior research.
We can reject or fail to reject a null
hypothesis, but we generally can’t
“prove” anything.

11. Sample Hypotheses
Madura, J., Richie, N., and Tucker, A. 2006, Trading halts and price discovery,
Journal of Financial Services Research, 30, 311-328.

12. Research Paper Elements
Introduction
Literature Review
Hypotheses
Data and Methodology
Results
Conclusions

13. Data and Methodology
What data sources did we use?
What are some summary statistics that
describe the sample?
What empirical methods did we use to
test the hypothesis?
What model did we estimate and why
is it appropriate?

14. Sample Data and Methodology
Madura, J., Richie, N., and Tucker, A. 2006, Trading halts and price discovery,
Journal of Financial Services Research, 30, 311-328.

15. Sample Data and Methodology
Madura, J., Richie, N., and Tucker, A. 2006, Trading halts and price discovery,
Journal of Financial Services Research, 30, 311-328.

16. Research Paper Elements
Introduction
Literature Review
Hypotheses
Data and Methodology
Results
Conclusions

17. Results
The results in each table are described
in writing.
Results should be tied to prior research
in that they confirm prior findings,
contradict prior findings, or extend
prior findings.

18. Sample Results
Murdock, M. and Richie, N., 2008, The United States Oil Fund as a hedging
instrument, Journal of Asset Management, 9, 333-346.

19. Research Paper Elements
Introduction
Literature Review
Hypotheses
Data and Methodology
Results
Conclusions

20. Conclusions
This section offers a restatement of the
research question and our key findings.
What are the implications of the
research?
Why does this research matter?

21. Sample Conclusions
Madura, J., Richie, N., and Tucker, A. 2006, Trading halts and price discovery,
Journal of Financial Services Research, 30, 311-328.

22. • Browse the Table of Contents of journals.
• Read the Wall Street Journal, the Economist,
or other popular sources.
• Find prior studies that can be replicated with
more current data.
• Watch CNBC or other business news for
recent business trends.