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ECN5132 Research Methodology in Applied Economics

Fatimah Mohamed Arshad
Group 1, Sem 2 2013/14
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ECN5132 Research Methodology in Applied Economics

Date: 22/02/2014
Topic:
Assignment 1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Assignment 1: Research Topic Selection and Literature Review

Review chapters on problem definition before proceeding.
1.

Write down in 40 words or less a research topic for your research proposal. Be specific.
Writing down a researchable topic or question will take more than a single effort. It is an
iterative process. Once you write down the topic, evaluate it and then revise it. Go through
this process at least several times. The following questions may be of help:
Is this a question that can be researched using economic theory and methods?
Can it be researched using a theory and methods that you are familiar with?
What economic behaviours are involved? Whose behaviours are these?
How would you use theory to describe these behaviours? What elements of theory are
relevant?
How would use theory to derive hypotheses about the economic behaviour you are interested
in? What are possible hypotheses?
What empirical methods would you use to test the hypotheses or estimate the identified
behavioural relationships?
Are you familiar with these economic methods?

2.

Use the Econ-Literature or electronic databases to identify at least; at least minimum 8

literaturethat report research related to the topic you are interested in. Print out a list of
these articles to hand in with this assignment. Write the citation using APA
stylehttp://www.apastyle.org/apa-style-help.aspx
Try to assess whether an article is relevant to your work before you search it out. Read an
abstract of the article if it is available on the search program. The relevant journals include
American Economic Review, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Econometrica,
Journal of Law and Economics, Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Farm Economics,
Journal of Futures Market, Journal of Developing Economies, Land Economics, Review of
Economics and Statistics, or the Review of Economic Studies or those that are related to your
field of study.

3.

Produce a one-page report on your research topic and references using Word. Put the
assignment number, the date, group number or individual's name, and/or members' name
and metric number at the top of the page. Follow this information with the 40 word description
of your topic. Then list your selected 8 references in APA bibliographic form.

4.

Fill out a A: First Review Sheet for the 8 articles on your list.

5.

Fill out a B: Summary of Literature Review sheet for the 8 articles.

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A: First Review Sheet
____________________

Name__________________________Matric No:.

1.

Date:

2.

Citation of the article:

3.

The specific issue researched by the authors is:

4.

The articles literature review is (circle one):

5.

The number of references cited in the literature review is:

6.

The theoretical section of the paper (circle all that apply):

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

7.

absent, informative, inadequate

Is absent
Uses verbal argument
Uses graphs or charts
Uses mathematics
Appears insightful or information.

The articles identifies parameters to be estimated or hypotheses to be tested.

A.
B.

Yes (list key parameters or hypotheses):

No (explain):

8.

The empirical methods used are (if applicable):

9.

The authors conclude that (list only points):

8.

This article is worth reading as I develop my research topic:

A.
B.

Yes
No

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B: Summary of Literature Review
1.

Date: ___________________

Name_________________________Mat. No.

2.

Authors Name/Year:________________________________________________

3.

Number of citations included in literature review:

4.

What issues does the author address with the literature review (list):

5.
How does the author organize and develop the literature review (e.g., by listing previous work and findings, chronol
by conclusion, theory, or empirical method, by comparing and contrasting findings, or by another method)?

6.

What does the author conclude from the literature review?

C: Based on the above references, prepare an Annotated Bibliography for your project/thesis
You may follow this template if you like.
http://guides.library.cornell.edu/annotatedbibliography