Mg 302 Sp 15
Professor Jordi Comas
WHITE PAPER GUIDELINES SPRING 2015
Preface: You have written two essays. They both were applications of ethical reasoning to a business case. Now, you will
turn to a more fully developed research paper. However, this is applied research. You are going to become a relative
expert on a topic of your choice, and you will address your paper to a SPECIFIC, CONCRETE decision-maker. Your goal as
a writer is to synthesize what is known and then use that to evaluate a change in POLICY for an organization.
White papers are normative. They are about what ought to be done. However, this is different from an ethical analysis
because you are basing your writing on research and social or other science.
The process here overlaps with paper 2. You must develop ideas AND assess resources as you go along. To develop the
White Paper, you will write three resource proposals that allow you to try out different topics or to delve further into a
particular topic.
FINAL PAPER, “THE WHITE PAPER” AND PROPOSAL GUIDELINES
White paper defined: Though there are varying definitions, for our class, we can follow Wikipedia’s
1
lead: “A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that helps solve a problem. White papers are
used to educate readers and help people make decisions,…”
The key characteristics:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Uses and assesses research
Targeted to a particular decision-maker or organization
Reviews and recommends courses of action or decisions to make
A report (not an essay)
Persuasive, authoritative writing
Overview: You are going to write a report called a “white paper” about a topic you think is important or
relevant. Your paper will summarize key knowledge about your topic as well as review possible courses
of action. You will include, based on your research, a recommended course of action. You will use three
proposals to assess resources and develop your ideas. Each proposal will focus on information produced
by one type of information producer: business, government, and society.
OBJECTIVES:
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1
Develop and research a policy topic of interest to you and relevant to the contemporary world
of business, government, and society.
For many, this will be the longest paper you have written at Bucknell. Good! That is appropriate
for a W2 class.
Demonstrate highest quality information literacy.
Use proposals to develop ideas and improve research quality in terms of sources and evaluation
of sources.
Examine how the interests of information sources affect knowledge and perspective.
N.a. “White Paper.” Wikipedia. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_paper Accessed: March
19,2012.
Final Paper Guidelines
Mg 302 Sp 15
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Professor Jordi Comas
Develop a piece of writing that can showcase your talents and interests.
Tackle difficult questions of authority and truthfulness in contested topics.
You are ENCOURAGED but not required to build from the case you did in paper 2.
DELIVERABLES:
1. Three short “resource proposals” for your paper. These you will post to the class blog on your
PAGE. All will go one page. I will show you in class. They are due on the day of class (by
midnight, like always).
2. A final white paper in hard and electronic copy.
3. 15-20 pages of text (minimum 3,750 words, EXCLUDNG executive summary). If you rely on
figures and charts, the word count is the key, not page length. In report format with title page,
table of contents, executive summary, headings, relevant graphs, figures or charts, all citations.
4. A short summary or “teaser” of your paper posted on the class blog. You will post the paper to
the blog after the teaser (you can upload a file like you would a picture as media).
5. General work flow:
IdeasProposals, each one using a different type of sourceFinalize topicFinalize audience
 Research and WriteProduce Deliverable for Decision MakerShare a clip of your paper on
your blog (see “funnel” chart at end of this document.)
MORE ON POLICY OR “WHITE” PAPERS:
A policy paper is a particular type of writing that exists in a variety of ways. These are often called
“white papers.” Essentially, a white paper is an example of applied research writing in the service of a
particular set of decision-makers.
Here are some common elements
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White papers aim to synthesize and summarize existing knowledge and research as opposed to
report new findings.
White papers are written for a knowledgeable audience for that topic.
Their aim is to influence decision-making and policy formation.
They often will deal even-handedly with alternative or competing perspectives while ultimately
taking a position. This is also called argumentative or persuasive writing.
They will include all the elements of a formal report (more below).
Like any good research writing, sources are clearly documented and cited.
They will include relevant figures, graphs, and other data representations.
ELEMENTS OF A REPORT:
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Title Page
Executive summary (one page)
Table of Contents
Clear section headings
Final Paper Guidelines
Mg 302 Sp 15
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Professor Jordi Comas
Clear design throughout
Labeled figures, data, tables, and so on
Clear and correct citations
MORE ON RESOURCE PROPOSALS:
The proposals will ideally enable you to look at the same issue from multiple perspectives. To this end,
each one should rely on and be in dialogue with a particular type of information resources (business,
government, and society). I realize you each will (and should) follow your own research process, so the
order that you do these in is up to you. You may also find your topic shifting as you do these. That is
fine and appropriate.
A proposal is 1-2 pages long (about 4-5 paragraphs on the blog).
. The proposals are graded separately from the white paper and are graded on a pass-fail basis to
encourage you to be less risk averse.
To develop your idea and to discover sources from varying perspectives, you will produce three
proposals.The purpose of the proposals is to develop your ideas while writing in response to a particular
type of research source; namely, these will be one each from a business, government, and “society”
perspective. For example, you want to examine wage inequality. You might do one proposal reporting
on wage inequality research from the Bureau of Labor Statistics or the Federal Reserve (or some other
government body). You would do a second on the policy positions of a firm or association of firms. In
this case, the US Chamber of Commerce may have written editorials or reports attacking minimum wage
or living wage laws. Finally, you look into the research done by a think tank that claims to be nonpartisan and tries to provide clear answers about the causes of wage inequality. This third proposal may
also include the research from a university-based research center on the economy.
Sample proposal for the blog.
1)
2)
3)
4)
State problem/ policy area of interest
Summarize current thinking or ideas about this area.
Summarize what your resource(s) add or change or challenge to prevailing thinking.
Discuss how 2 and 3 relate to your topic and ideas. Do they help you develop your ideas? Are
you arguing against this research? How do these contribute to your larger goal?
5) How reliable is the information? If it comes from a more biased or interested perspective, are
there ways to assess its value despite those origins?
SAMPLE TOPICS
Please visit the archive of past papers to get ideas or to see examples.
(https://sites.google.com/a/bucknell.edu/biz-gov-soc/research-for-white-papers/white-paper-archivesor-sources/index-to-submitted-white-papers)
You can also see the previews on past class blogs.
Final Paper Guidelines
Mg 302 Sp 15
Professor Jordi Comas
BGS 2: http://bizgovsoc2.wordpress.com/category/white-paper/
BGS 3: http://bizgovsociii.wordpress.com/category/white-paper/
BGS 4: http://bizgovsoc4.wordpress.com/category/white-paper/
BGS 5: http://bizgovsocfive.wordpress.com/tag/white-paper-2/
B-ethics: http://bizgovsoc8.wordpress.com/category/white-paper-2/
Let’s get Ethical: http://bizgovsoc9.wordpress.com/category/white-paper/
RESOURCES:
A book on writing white papers (more about marketing).
http://www.writingwhitepapers.com/resources.html
Also, from a writing lab: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/546/1/
My own site devoted to white papers including samples, resources, and a library of past students’
papers: https://sites.google.com/a/bucknell.edu/biz-gov-soc/
Final Paper Guidelines
Mg 302 Sp 15
Professor Jordi Comas
HANDY TABLE FOR PROPOSALS
Feel free to copy and paste this into your own notes. My notes are just a SAMPLE.
EMPTY TABLE (for you to use)
Policy Area
Possible or Likely Audience
or Decision Maker
Type of Source (WHO
WROTE?)
Name of Source
Where/How I Found
Quality of Source
Notes on Source- what is
known
Notes on source- policy ideas
or recommendations
Other
Proposal 1
Proposal 2
Proposal 3
1-
1-
1-
a-
a-
a-
SAMPLE TABLE (Jordi invented the details, but look at types of sources and shifts in focus)
Policy Area
Possible or Likely
Audience or Decision
Maker
Type of Source (WHO
WROTE?)
Name of Source
Proposal 1
Encouraging
sustainable
entrepreneurship
The POTUS
Proposal 2
Encouraging sustainable
entrepreneurship
Report- from think
tank- SOC
“Suggestions to
Support Local, Green
start-ups”
Press release- GOV
Where/How I Found
Google search
Quality of Source
Seems good. Think
tank was one we used
in class. Site is
transparent about
sources of support.
Governor of a state
Office of econ
development of PA
press release on new
green start ups
Using gov doc search in
catalog and then lexis
nexis.
High quality- from the
governor’s office.
Proposal 3
Encouraging green
entrepreneurshipdefining “green”
Governor of PA
Biz- PA Chamber of
Commerce
Report on how stupid
governor’s plan is.
On website of the PA
Chamber of commerce.
Average- strong influence
of the interest of chamber.
Raises issues but with little
supporting evidence from
third parties.
Good for their
perspective. Weak on
Final Paper Guidelines
Mg 302 Sp 15
Professor Jordi Comas
Notes on Source- what
is known
2- Blah blah
3- Blah blah
Notes on sourcepolicy ideas or
recommendations
b- Do more to
create local
markets.
c- Don’t make
every area
chase dream of
silicon valley
Other
Final Paper Guidelines
2- Previous, no
green focus on
econ develop
grants.
b- No clear way to
measure impact
(my idea)
c- Who defines
what green is?
This was from 2010.
Was there any followup?
empirical.
2- These green
grants are called
simply green pork.
b- Purely negative.
Does not address
either how to
improve job
growth or ‘green”
c- Helps me think
about need to
define in nonpartisan way what
“green” would
mean.
I want to make defining
what “green” is a big part
of my final white paper.
Mg 302 Sp 15
Professor Jordi Comas
Overview of
process as a
funnel:
Proposals
interact with
writing and
research while
choices
emerge about
decision
maker, focus
of white
paper.
Final Paper Guidelines