Second coder — independent classification of 24 EPA regulatory analyses (reliability check)

Hello! This is a fixed-price, one-time project — I’m a public-policy researcher completing an academic paper and need a second coder to independently classify 24 U.S. EPA regulations against a short codebook. This is a formal reliability check: I have already coded these rules, and your independent codes will be compared with mine to compute the inter-coder agreement statistic reported in the paper. You will not see my codes — the value of the exercise is that the two reads are independent. The work is structured rather than open-ended. For each rule you open the EPA economic analysis (PDF, provided) and record, from the document’s own tables: • the regulatory option EPA finalized, and the option with the highest net benefits; • Question 1 (direction): whether the finalized option is more or less protective than the highest-net-benefit option; • Question 2 (availability): whether EPA could have chosen the highest-net-benefit option, or was barred from it; • for the availability answer, a one-line reason and the page or table number it comes from. A codebook defines both questions precisely and works through an example; a one-page guide shows where the relevant tables sit in these documents. All materials — codebook, guide, coding spreadsheet, and PDFs — are shared with the selected freelancer at the start of the project via a download link (nothing is attached to this posting). The documents are long — several run 300 to 1,000+ pages — and technical. A background in environmental law is not needed; the codebook and guide supply the definitions. The task is locating the specified figures and applying the codebook consistently across all 24 rules. Deliverable: one completed coding spreadsheet, with a one-line reason and a page or table reference for each availability answer. Background sought: graduate-level or professional experience in law, public policy, economics, public administration, environmental studies, or a related field, and comfort reading regulatory, legal, or technical documents and pulling figures from tables. To apply, please answer briefly (2–3 sentences), and note any experience with regulatory, legal, or technical documents: In your own words, how does a regulation being more stringent differ from its being more cost-effective?