- Purpose:
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The goal of the research project is to allow you to undertake a
significant and rigorous investigation of an interesting economic
question — albeit one that can be completed this semester
— and produce a publication-quality written account of your
findings. In addition to providing you with "hands-on" experience with
more advanced techniques, the project also should provide an
opportunity to practice and improve your ability to communicate
technical ideas effectively in a written format
- Getting Started:
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Read chapter 19 of Wooldridge's textbook, which features a
discussion of the "art" of conducting econometric analysis (as opposed
to the "science" that is the primary focus of the rest of the book).
This is probably the best introduction to the myriad of issues that
you will encounter. As part of the first problem set
(due on Wednesday, February 1), write a paragraph or two describing
a potential topic area of interest to you. Explain why you find it
interesting from an economic perspective, and why it is something
that can be meaningfully investigated with econometric methods.
If possible, discuss the types (and sources) of data you expect
to use. Then plan to meet with me in person before your prospectus
is due to discuss the feasibility of your topic, and ideas for how
to proceed.
- Schedule:
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There are four primary components of your research project (plus the
written review of two others students' drafts), with the
following deadlines:
Important Dates:
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Wednesday, February 28 |
Prospectus Due (in class) |
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Monday, April 2 |
Annotated Bibliography & Data Summary Due (in class) |
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Monday, April 23 |
First Draft of Research Paper Due (by 4 PM) |
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Monday, April 30 |
Comments on Other Students' Drafts Due (in class) |
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Tuesday, May 15 |
Final Project Due (by 2 PM) |
Please note that these deadlines are fixed;
late assignments will not be accepted for credit.
- Prospectus:
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The main goal of the prospectus is to ascertain that you are on track
with the essential groundwork of the project. In the prospectus, you
should clearly identify the economic issue or question you intend to
analyze. You should be able to explain why this topic is interesting,
and how econometric analysis will contribute to a better understanding
of the issue. A well-focused, narrow topic will almost always yield a
better project (with less frustration) than a much broader topic.
A complete prospectus will probably run 2–3 pages, but can be longer.
It is conceivable — although hopefully unlikely —
that your proposed project will not be appropriate for this course.
Under that circumstance, you should speak with me as soon as possible
so that we can find an appropriate modification to your proposal and
get you back on track.
- Annotated Bibliography with Data Summary:
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An important part of your research project will be establishing the
current views of your issue in the economic (or quantitative social
science) literature. To that end, the next stage is a
discussion of related academic research.
Start with a paragraph or two that discusses how the literature you
have identified as relevant shapes your
project: the particular hypotheses or "stylized facts" to analyze, the
appropriate applied techniques to use, choice of dataset(s), etc.
Then write a paragraph (or two) that summarizes the relevent contribution
to the framework of your project for each of at least 3 but no
more than 8 relevant articles on your research topic. These should be
research articles with substantive analytical content; no more than one
may be a descriptive or journalistic piece. Theoretical articles that
suggest empirical analysis are appropriate.
A second major component of the project is the collection of the data to be analyzed.
Your data collection should be (more or less) complete by this stage. (You
are strongly recommended to complete your data collection as soon as
possible. If you have any problems locating or "cleaning up" your
dataset(s), come see me.) Describe your dataset in a paragraph.
Provide a table that lists your main variables, their sources, a
description of any transformations necessary for your analysis, and
summary statistics. You may also attach any graphs or multivariate
statistical tables that illustrate important statistical relationships
in your data. Do not simply print out a list of your data!
- First Draft:
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The first draft should be as complete a paper as possible. In
particular, the econometric analysis and corresponding interpretation
for the main questions of your paper should be largely complete. While
this draft also should be free of logical, grammatical and spelling
errors, the grade will be determined primarily by the extent to which
you have successfully addressed the main empirical questions of your
project. You are encouraged to have someone proofread your draft
(for both content and exposition) before you submit it.
These drafts will be returned to you with detailed comments and
suggestions for improving the paper. I encourage you to come and
speak with me about your project after you have reviewed my written
comments.
- Comments on Other Students' Drafts:
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Peer review is an essential part of any serious scholarly or
scientific work. To that end, you should write a page or two (or
more, if merited) of substantive and constructive comments on two of
your classmates' drafts. These comments, along with the drafts
themselves, will be posted on the course web site for all to read.
- Final Submission:
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The final submission will incorporate both a re-write of the first
draft, as well new information and analysis as appropriate. In this
submission, a larger fraction of the grade will be determined by the
quality of your writing. The final paper should be as long as necessary
to establish your empirical analysis and any appropriate checks on the
robustness of your findings — but no longer. Brevity, clarity,
and completeness are important. (In practice, a final draft likely
will run roughly 15 to 20 pages of text.) Your final submission also
should include a bibliography, plus any tables, graphs, or appendices
that contribute substantively to the presentation and analysis.
The published papers that you cite should serve as a model for the
form and content of your final submission: write as if you were going
to submit your project to a well-ranked academic journal for
publication. Again, proofreading by another person is advised.
The final paper is due in my office by 2 PM on Tuesday, May 16th.
I will not accept late papers under any circumstances. You also must
submit an electronic version of your complete paper (including all
tables, graphs, etc.) in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format to receive credit
for the final submission. The software to generate PDF files is
available in most computer labs on campus.
- Honor Code:
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This project must be completed in a manner consistent with the
Wesleyan Honor Code. You should credit anyone who provided you
with assistance on this project. (It is customary to do so in a footnote
on the cover page, or in a brief paragraph at the end of the main text.)
Plagiarism is a serious violation of the Honor Code.
It will not be tolerated.
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