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Steve Yamarik, Instructor Spring 2000, Section 101 E-Mail: yamarik@uakron.edu |
Office: Olin 228 Hours: By Appointment Phone: 972-8491 |
| Web site: | http://www.uakron.edu/econ/faculty/yamarik/ |
| Required Text: | McCloskey, Diedre N., Economical Writing, 2nd edition, Waveland Press, Inc. (2000) |
| Additional Texts: |
Cody, Ronald P. and Jeffrey K. Smith, Applied Statistics and the SAS Programming Language, 3rd edition, North-Holland Press (1991)
Foundations of Research in Economics: How Do Economists Do Economics?, edited by Medema, Steven G. and Warren J. Samuels, Edward Elgar Publishing Inc. (1996) Kennedy, Peter, A Guide to Econometrics, 4th edition, The MIT Press (1998) McCloskey, Donald N. The Writing of Economics, McMillian Publishing (1987) Morse, Lawrence B., Writing the Economics Paper, Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. (1981) Spector, Paul E., SAS Programming for Researchers and Social Scientists, Sage Publications (1993) |
| Course Objective: | The objective of this course is to learn how to write a research paper in the field of economics. We will study the process of research: starting from the selection of a topic and ending with the writing of a conclusion. In this course, you will learn how to craft a research statement, construct a theoretical model, test the model empirically and interpret your results. |
| Course Requirements: |
The main course requirement is the writing of a research paper in economics. This research paper will be written under the guidance of the instructor and your fellow students. To ensure completion, the research paper will be constructed in five distinct steps. Each step will become a section of your paper. During each step, you will meet both as a class and individually with the instructor. A calendar of the course is provided on the website. In our class meetings, we will discuss theoretical and technical issues pertaining to the construction of that section. Moreover, as a class, we will discuss how these issues pertain to each student’s research topic. In our individual meetings, you will receive critical feedback from the instructor and have the opportunity to ask questions about your work.
To make this process work, the instructor has established strict deadlines on the completion of each section of the paper. The deadline dates are detailed on pages 2 and 3 of the syllabus. It is imperative that you meet these deadlines so that you can receive comments from both the instructor and your fellow students. Failure to meet these deadlines will result in the loss of points from your final grade. Overall, this course requires a daily dedication to the writing of a research paper. By daily dedication, I mean setting aside two to three quality hours per day. This is best achieved by reserving a three-hour interval each day to working on your paper. If one commits himself or herself to such a routine, then this course will prove both emotionally manageable and intellectually rewarding. |
| Course Grading: |
The weighting for your final grade is shown below:
Paper - 80%
The participation portion depends upon your attendance (and tardiness) and your participation in discussions. |
| Course Outline: | The following is the course outline and deadline for completion of each topic. The topics in bold are to be submitted to the instructor on Friday via email (except for the 1st Draft which is due on Thursday). Comments will be returned in person for topics I, II, IV and V and emailed for topic III. |
| Topic | Deadline | ||
| I. | Developing a Research Statement (Week 1) | ||
| A. | Choosing a Research Topic | Tuesday, June 13 | |
| B. | Narrowing the Research Topic | Thursday, June 15 | |
| C. | Writing the Research Statement | Friday, June 16 | |
| D. | Submit Introduction | Friday, June 16 | |
| II. | Introducing Economic Theory (Week 2) | ||
| A. | Surveying Current Economic Theory | Tuesday, June 20 | |
| B. | Choosing an Appropriate Model | Wednesday, June 21 | |
| C. | Fitting the Model to your Research Topic | Friday, June 23 | |
| D. | Submit Theory section | Friday, June 23 | |
| III. | Testing the Theoretical Model (Weeks 3 & 4) | ||
| A. | Specifying a Testable Equation | Tuesday, June 27 | |
| B. | Collecting Data | Thursday, June 29 | |
| C. | Empirically Testing the Model | Friday, June 30 | |
| D. | Submit Data section | Friday, June 30 | |
| IV. | Interpretation and Robustness of Results (Week 4) | ||
| A. | Interpreting your Results | Wednesday, July 5 | |
| B. | Checking the Robustness | Friday, July 7 | |
| C. | Submit Empirical Results section | Friday, July 7 | |
| V. | Drawing Conclusions (Week 5) | ||
| A. | Writing a Conclusion | Tuesday, July 11 | |
| B. | Revising your Paper | Thursday, July 13 | |
| C. | Submit 1st Draft of Paper | Thursday, July 13 | |
| VI. | Submit Final Draft by Monday, July 17 by noon | ||
| Course Schedule: | The Course Schedule contains due dates and classroom locations for each class. |