Econ 301

Research Methodology for Economics (ECON 301)

Course description:

The objective of the course is to prepare students for the initiation of a St. Mary's Project. To achieve the objective, students will be introduced to research methodologies and tools used in economics. More specifically, the course contains the following four parts. The first part deals with the research topic formation. In the second part, we will discuss data collection and processing subjects. In the third part, we will learn how to do a literature review. Finally, we will cover the writing of a proposal and paper.

Students will also be trained to meet official deadlines and design their own work plan and timetable.

Faculty members in the department of economics, and maybe college wide faculty members and staff as well as people outside the college, will be invited in turn to talk to the class. By so doing, students in the class may obtain different research prospects from different people and be acquainted with the speakers. Students will also be given assignments to discuss topics with various people. Librarian(s) will be invited to talk to the class about literature search technique. Ms. Pam Hicks will be invited to teach basic software such as data base, spreadsheet, and presentation. Staff in the Writing Center may also give a lecture and provide assistance.

During the course, students will formulate a proposal for a St. Mary’s Project. The project proposal formulated in this course will not be binding, however.

2. Pre-requisite: ECON 251, ECON 252, and ECON 253 (formerly ECON 300), or
instructor’s permission.

Required reading/textbook: The Economist’s Handbook: A Research and Writing Guide, by
T.L. Wyrick, West Publishing Company, 1994.

4. Lectures: Tuesday and Thursday, 2:00 - 3:50PM at KH135.

5. Office Hours: 10:00 - 11:30AM, Tuesday and Thursday, or by appointment.

6. Grade: Grades are allocated as follows:

Attendance: 20%
Assignments: 20%
Presentation: 20%
Final writing assignment: 20%
Participation 20%

More detailed grading criteria will be given later.

Syllabus: Very Tentative

1. 1/18 (T): Introduction to this course. Introduction to St. Mary’s project.

2. 1/20 (R): Topic formation

3. 1/25 (T): Individual consultation

4. 1/27 (R): Lecture on Access by Ms. Hicks

5. 2/1 (T): Data search and process, Wyrick’s Chapters 1 and 2

6. 2/3 (R): Lab work on Access

7. 2/8 (T): Lecture on PowerPoint by Ms. Hicks

8. 2/10 (R): Lab work on Powerpoint

9. 2/15 (T): Literature search, Wyrick’s Chapter 3

10. 2/17 (R): Lecture on literature search by Ms. Leonard

11. 2/22 (T): Lab work on literature search

12. 2/24 (R): Invited lecture 1, discussion, and individual consultation

13. 2/29 (T): Invited lecture 2, discussion, and individual consultation

14. 3/2 (R): Invited lecture 3, discussion, and individual consultation

15. 3/7 (T): Invited lecture 4, discussion, and individual consultation

16. 3/9 (R): Lecture on writing by Writing Center; lecture on working plan software by
Ms. Hicks.

3/14 (T): No class – Spring Break.

3/16 (R): No class – Spring Break.

17. 3/21 (T): Student midterm presentation on Wyrick’s Chapters 4 and 5, discussions,
and individual consultations

18. 3/23 (R): Student midterm presentation on Wyrick’s Chapters 6 and 7, discussions,
and individual consultations

3/28 (T): No classes - all day advising.

19. 3/30 (R): Student midterm presentation on Wyrick’s Chapters 8 and 9, discussions,
and individual consultations

20. 4/4 (T): Student midterm presentation on Wyrick’s Chapters 10 and 11, discussions,
and individual consultations

21. 4/6 (R): Student midterm presentation on Wyrick’s Chapter 12, discussions, and
individual consultations

22. 4/11 (T): To be scheduled

23. 4/13 (R): To be scheduled

24. 4/18 (T): To be scheduled

25. 4/20 (R): Student final presentations

4/25 (T): Class may be cancelled and rescheduled on 5/2

4/27 (R): Class may be cancelled and rescheduled on 5/4

26. 5/2 (T): Student final presentations

27. 5/4 (R): Student final presentations

Last Updated 07/31/00