Entry #1 ORGANIZE JOURNAL ARTICLES FOR LITERATURE REVIEWS

This post is note to self and subject for future revision as I grow wiser as a researcher.

Step 1: Find researches that fit the topic

- Research article on the subject

1.1. Google Scholar: Enter your keywords

E.g., In my case, I entered "willingness to pay" OR "WTP" + "education". Note that education is public good. You can replace "education" with "heath" or "public services" to see how researchers on the other fields measure WTP

Other resource to find thesis on the topic

- EBSCO Open Dissertations - https://www.ebsco.com/products/resear...​

- Open Access Dissertations and Theses - https://oatd.org/​

- Proquest - https://pqdtopen.proquest.com/search....​

- Stanford SearchWorks - https://searchworks.stanford.edu/cata...​

- OpenThesis - http://www.openthesis.org/​

1.2. Expand your search scope.

Method 1:

Scite: Once you find some intersting articles with impact (look at the number of citations!). Click on the article and find its DOI.

Paste it in Scite. Find articles supporting/ mentioning/ contrasting to the articles.

An alternative can be ConnectedPapers for prior and related works. I personally prefer Scite for its simplicity.

Method 2: Find article on the reference list

This is useful when you do literature review on the background of the topics. Get the DOI of relevant article

Step 2: Manage the files

- Download Pdfs using Scihub or Research gate or even Google. Those of you who study oversea, you can search on your University's Library Portal.

- Drag the file in your Mendeley desktop or Endnote. I prefer Mendeley for user-friendliness. To learn how to use Mendeley. From Mendeley, you can start organize, highlight, and take notes.

Step 3: Logging and catalogue using Excel

This is the most important step if you want meaningful findings.

1. I think Excel is doing pretty good job of managing journal. I started the habit of logging when I was in my MPA. After graduation, I picked up new tips along the way. You can see my revised template below. This version is from Graduate Coach with the few alternations.

GC-Lit-Review-Template-2984

.xlsx

Download XLSX • 116KB

2. Ok, let's go from tab to tab

- Tab 1 - Literature: You will enter information you find in this tab. It might be hideous at first. But trust me you need a second brain to load everything you read or you will lose it. No one can remember everything. Some sections already have options for you to choose. Don't overtype in those.

- Tab 2 - Construct items. If you are building a regression model, you will have to pick independent variables for it. How to know variables should you include? First step is to refer to past journals. Once you read any articles, find independent variables used by authors and put them into this tab. Remember to note author name and year (in APA format) for future reference.

- Tab 3 - Theoretical models: Once you see a different framework used in the journal, capture and paste it here for future reference. Remember to note its source.

- Tab 4 - Measure and Scaling: If the paper used new measurement or scale for its research, capture, paste, and note down the source.

- Tab 5 - Questionnaire: Copy and Paste research questionnaire if shared by authors.

- Tab 6 - Summary: You don't need to do anything with the tab. It automatically runs for you (if you enter everything correctly)

Once you finish the tasks, you will have an overview of existing literature on your research of interest. The Excel file will keep this overview safe for the next steps!

Further readings:

1. Tóm tắt bài báo khoa học

2. How I use Excel to manage my Literature Review

3. Graduate Coach's video on Literature Review

#Sheforshe or Game theory implications

The Bold Type is one of a rare feel-good feminist TV shows. I was touched by how strong women supporting each other. Jacqueline, the editor in chief of Scarlet magazine, is the boss every woman wished to have. We, woman, can grow without jealousy, cat fights, and dirty tricks. The more I watch the movie the more it reminds me of The Prisoner's Dilemma.

To recall what The Prisoner's Dilemma is, let me introduce two criminals caught by the police: Bonnie and Clyde. Given the lack of evidence, police separated them in different rooms with an deal:

"Right now, we can lock you up for 1 year. If you confess to the bank robbery and implicate your partner, however, we will give you immunity and you can go free. Your partner will get 20 years in jail. But if you both confess to the crime, we won't need your testimony and we can avoid the cost of trial, so you can each get the intermediate sentence for 8 year" (Mankiw, 2008). We can have the pay off table for Bonnie and Clyde as follows:

Instead of believing with their teammate, both Clyde and Bonnie chose to confess given the lack of information on the other's decision and their self-interest nature. The two left with 8 year sentences and missed the optimal options. Here is their thinking process:

Imagine we are all in the game of life, The prisoner's dilemma taught us cooperation yield at optimal choice. It is hard and against our nature to put others first. I'm selfish too. And hey, that is the reason why neo classical economics remains legit. We, as economics learners, have found a way to outsmart The Prisoner's Dilemma. Let me be the first mover by rationally say: I'm here supporting you :)

P.S. For movie junkies out there who want to see Prisoner's Dilemma in a less formal context, this is my favorite bar scene from A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Reference:

1. How to outsmart the Prisoner’s Dilemma - Lucas Husted

2. Mankiw, N. G. (2008). Principles of microeconomics. Toronto: Nelson Thomson Learning

|Stumbling with words| Recommendation N.06

Hello readers!

Welcome to another entry where I shared what I have read recently. Tet went by and I have nothing but works. As my work proceeds, I discovered few random things:

1. The use of Excel and Scrivener for research: I discovered A Law Unto Herself when doing my literature review for my coming papers. This blog is a writing collection of a law teacher doing her daily job. I found her 2 posts on Excel and Scrivener extremely useful for me in my writing process. You can check them out if you want to organize your reference papers and writing ideas.

2. Yesterday, my boyfriend sent me an article about Architect Vo Trong Nghia and his Buddhism livings. He is using religion to form his company's culture. It reminds me of an Oddly Normal podcast where politicians have utilized religion as management tools. I believe a great leader created solid "religion" then saved tons of efforts and moneys to manage his/her teams.

3. I used to watch Bojack Horseman religiously. I quit when finally realized Bojack was a waste man. I should not watch the show to be pessimistic. Yesterday, I scrolled down past Instagram feeds and found a Diane's quote on marriage. I think it's legit and worth the share.

4. I found another start up podcast last week. Supprisingly, my ex-boss was featured. Listening to this, I admire his management philosophy. I get why he is loved by many. However, as the coffee scence involved constantly, he needs to be present and closely manage the chain. Letting others running your coffee shops based on trust is risky (the principal–agent problem)

5. I watched 2 seasons of HBO's Succession thanks to Lisa Eldridge. The show depicts a journey where a media tycoon Logan Roys finding his heir/heiress. Some claims Roy is the drama version of Rupert Murdoch and Shakespeare's King Lear. What strikes me the most was the "merger madness" of Logan's Waystar company. As business went sour, Logan bought other media platforms to strengthen his position. The problem, however, lies on the operations of 80-year-old media company. As customers stop getting news from television, the acquisition of media zombies did little favor for Waystar. This case study reminds me how Vietnam Television trying to utilize Youtube, Tiktok, and Facebook as new mediums. Maybe it is the way plan should go.

Till next time!