What is Adopt a Paper?
Adopt a Paper is a mentoring program aimed at providing feedback to junior scholars in the field of economics. Junior scholars submit a working paper to the program, and receive comments from a senior scholar who volunteers to provide constructive feedback on the content of the paper as well as publication advice.
Most early career scholars find it difficult to receive comments on their research outputs post-graduation, prior to submission for journal publication. Lack of feedback is exacerbated by limited access to prestigious conferences and workshops, and paucity of seminar invitations. The Adopt a Paper program aims to expand and diversify access to high quality feedback by allowing junior scholars to receive comments on a research paper from an expert in their field. See our Past Rounds page for information on the scholars who participated in our program in the past.
As social scientists, we believe that any program or policy should be evaluated for its effectiveness. For this specific program, we believe that understanding whether it is effective is necessary to decide on whether it should be made permanent and possibly run by a professional organization. We expect to conduct several cycles of the program over multiple years in order to evaluate its effectiveness. At this time, participation in the program involves participation in its evaluation. For additional information about the program evaluation see the FAQs page.
Most early career scholars find it difficult to receive comments on their research outputs post-graduation, prior to submission for journal publication. Lack of feedback is exacerbated by limited access to prestigious conferences and workshops, and paucity of seminar invitations. The Adopt a Paper program aims to expand and diversify access to high quality feedback by allowing junior scholars to receive comments on a research paper from an expert in their field. See our Past Rounds page for information on the scholars who participated in our program in the past.
As social scientists, we believe that any program or policy should be evaluated for its effectiveness. For this specific program, we believe that understanding whether it is effective is necessary to decide on whether it should be made permanent and possibly run by a professional organization. We expect to conduct several cycles of the program over multiple years in order to evaluate its effectiveness. At this time, participation in the program involves participation in its evaluation. For additional information about the program evaluation see the FAQs page.
Participate as a MentorIf you are a senior scholar, please consider providing this service to the profession. You probably recall feeling lost while working on a paper as a junior scholar. Receiving feedback from a senior scholar could have made (or did make) all the difference. We welcome participation from scholars of all genders.
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Participate as a MenteeIf you are a junior scholar navigating the transition between doctoral studies and a tenure track position in a research intensive US, Canadian or European academic institution, we encourage you to participate in the program. See the eligibility criteria below. We welcome participation from scholars of all genders.
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What is my commitment as a Mentor?As a Mentor, you commit to read a working paper by a junior in your field, and to provide a "referee report" style summary of the paper's strength and weaknesses, and suggestions for improvements. Future follow-ups with the junior, up to the eventual publication of the paper, are highly encouraged but not required.
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What is my commitment as a Mentee?As a Mentee, you fill in an application form by December 15th 2023 and commit to submit a working paper to be "adopted" by January 15th 2024. This paper should be ready for circulation, but should not be at the Revise and Resubmit stage. The paper should also preferably not be your job market paper.
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Who is eligible to be a Mentor?We invite participation from tenured (associate or full) professors at PhD granting (or with similar research expectations) universities or colleges, or senior economists at a non-academic institution (e.g., Federal Reserve Bank, World Bank etc) in the U.S., Canada or Europe. Senior scholars with recent experience in publishing in top journals (top-field and above), and current or past journal editors are particularly encouraged to participate.
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Who is eligible to be a Mentee?To be a Mentee, you must have obtained a PhD in economics (or adjacent field) in 2022 or earlier. Moreover, you must currently hold a tenure-track or post-doctoral position at a research intensive US, Canadian or European academic institution, and you cannot be tenured or up for tenure in the current academic year (2023-2024).
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What happens if I am matched?Matched mentors and mentees will be put in contact via email. From that point onward, they will communicate privately, at their discretion.
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When will I hear about my match?Matched Mentors and Mentees will be notified of the match by the beginning of February 2024.
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Who is running the program?Elira Kuka, George Washington University
Danila Serra, Texas A&M University Program Manager: Daniel Gomez Vasquez, Economics PhD Student, Texas A&M University If you have any questions about the program, please email Daniel at [email protected] |
Is this program externally funded?We acknowledge financial support from:
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