Module leader

Gianna Boero

Information on Restrictions and Pre- and co-requisites, Teaching Format, Academic Aims, and Learning Objectives can be found in the module thumbprint.

Context

See your degree course regulations. You should start by looking at the pre-course presentation (pdf) to give you a flavour of the module and what you should be doing. Then you could browse my lecture notes (via the link on the right) for ideas on topics, sources of data and methodology.

Teaching format

Term 1: a series of lectures/workshops and surgeries (18 hours) that aim to provide research skills that support the completion of a substantial project of the student’s own choice. Students should also attend the Library-skills classes associated with the module and consider attending the Warwick Skills Programme.

Terms 1 & 2: The cohort is divided into groups of about 14-15. Each group will have weekly meetings with their Tutor to discuss possible topics, development of ideas, data availability and methodology. At the end of Term 1 students submit a written Literature review and a detailed project outline. In Term 2 each student will give two presentations, the first on data analysis (weeks 1/2/3), the second on a more advanced stage of the research (weeks 6/7/8/9).

It is important that students discuss with their tutor the most advanced stages of their research by the end of Term 2, so that they have the Easter vacation to take on board the final comments of tutors, and are in a good position to submit on time in Term 3.

Note that Tutors should not read and comment on 'complete first drafts' of projects prior to submission of the final project by students (week 1 Term 3). Also note that Tutors and any other member of the department (including research students) are under instruction to provide NO further support after the end of Term 2.

Assessment methods

• Individual project: 5,000–word report (80%)
• A literature review draft (1000 words) and a project outline (one/two pages) (10%)
• Two in-class presentations (5% each), as follows: (1) a review of the data/theory relevant to your topic, (2) a final presentation.

We expect you to use OHP slides written using Powerpoint and to either email the ppt file or hand a paper version to your tutor.

If you miss your presentation then you forfeit the marks for it and you won’t get any feedback.

Click here for RAE presentations: rules and procedures.

Academic aims

To help students develop and acquire the skills of thinking independently as an economist and presenting ideas clearly.

Syllabus

Lectures and workshops cover: outline of module; research methods; use of software; techniques of applied economic analysis; extracting and using data from CD-ROMs and the Internet; and accessing data at the Data Archive.

Illustrative reading

In view of the eclectic nature of the course and the heavy emphasis on student–led learning, there are no set texts or reading for this course. Each tutor will suggest reading appropriate to topics. Chapter 19 in J.M. Wooldridge 'Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach' has an excellent chapter on conducting an empirical project. Chapter 22 in P. Kennedy 'A guide to Econometrics' (6th Ed.) provides useful guidelines for applied work, including a discussion of ways of avoiding 'common mistakes'. Moreover, some of you might be familiar with Dougherty 'Introduction to Econometrics' which you are advised to consult if you need to revise some of the most basic econometric techniques. But please note that although the majority of you will use econometrics to test their hypotheses, the project is NOT an econometrics one – the emphasis is on economics – and we encourage students to consider also projects that have little or no conventional econometric analysis.