Economics 198
COURSE AND CONTACT INFORMATION
Course: Economics 198 Section 15
Semester: Spring 2010
Time: Wednesdays, 11:10 am – 1:00 pm
Location: GOV 325
Course Website: http://home.gwu.edu/~cdwei/econ198.html
INSTRUCTOR
Name: Chao Wei
Campus Address: Monroe 317
Phone: (202) 994-2374
E-mail: cdwei@gwu.edu
Office hours: Wednesdays, 10:00 – 11:00 am and by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course guides students to
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Identify an economically interesting problem or issue amenable to study using the
economic analysis techniques accessible to a senior year economics major.
Produce a research paper applying these techniques—whether analytical and/or
quantitative—to analyzing the identified problem or issue.
Develop presentation skills by presenting a draft version of the research to the
class.
Develop critical analytic and evaluative skills by providing both formal peer
review of fellow classmates’ research projects and comments for the papers
presented by guest speakers from other research institutions.
COURSE PREREQUISITE(S)
Open only to Economic majors in their senior year
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
As a result of completing this course, students will be able to write and present a research
paper using tools accessible to a senior year economics major.
TEXTS
Steven A. Greenlaw, Doing Economics: A Guide to Understanding and Carrying Out
Economic Research, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.
Supplemental materials with regard to identifying research topics, presentation and
discussion skills are posted on the course website.
GRADING
Class attendance and participation in class discussions are expected and will be
factors in the determination of your final grade (15%). The final draft counts for 70% of
your final grade. The remainder of your grade will be determined by your observance of
the deadlines set for providing me with a prospectus, a progress report, and the qualities
of your comments on papers for which you are the reviewer and your preliminary draft.
REQUIREMENTS:
The prospect of conducting economic research and writing a major research paper is
likely to be a daunting one for many of you. To help you in the process, and to ensure
that you make steady progress over the course of the semester, a number of smaller
assignments related to the paper will be required during the semester.
- In consultation with me, you will select and develop a topic that requires my approval
- Your prospectus will be due (and discussed in class) on February 3 and must be
in its final (acceptable) form by February 10.
- A literature review will be due on February 17.
- A written (one page) progress report on your paper, describing the progress you have
made since your initial prospectus, what remains to be researched, and any stumbling
blocks you have encountered. The report is due on March 3.
- You will prepare a draft of the paper; the draft is due March 24. You will turn in both a
hard copy and an electronic version of the paper.
- In one of the classes towards the end of the semester, you will make a short presentation
to the other seminar participants based on your paper. For this presentation, you must
make a copy of your original draft or an amended draft available for the rest of the class
to read a least a week in advance (e.g., papers for presentations on April 7 must
be available for photocopying prior to March 31). Taking the comments from me and
from the other seminar participants, you will then prepare a final draft of the paper.
- You will be assigned as a discussant for two of the presentations toward the end of the
semester. As a discussant, you will carefully review your assigned paper, prepare a
helpful critique, and make a short presentation based on your critique.
- The paper is due April 28. If you fail to turn in a final draft of the paper by that date
you will lose 5 points per day on your final grade. Note that 10 points drops you by a
letter grade (e.g., from an A to a B).
As part of the learning process, I will invite several guest speakers from local research
institutions to present their papers and discuss how they conducted their research. You
are required to read their papers ahead of time, and prepare a one-page comment. You are
responsible for carefully listening and making informed comments or suggestions.
APPOINTMENTS:
I will have an individual appointment with you after you submit your prospectus. You are
also required to sign up for an appointment with me after you submit your first draft.
For the rest of the semester, you are always welcome to come in and talk to me about the
direction or the progress of your paper. However, you must adhere to the following
guidelines:
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Make an appointment to see me.
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The day before the appointment, you must submit a concise (one page maximum)
write-up to me detailing your problem, your thoughts, your questions, or whatever.
Put down everything as logical and concise as you can. The write-up must be a
hard copy (NOT an electronic copy). Just slip the hard copy under the door to my
office by 5 pm the day before the appointment.
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Bring a copy of your write-up for your appointment.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
I personally support the GW Code of Academic Integrity. It states: “Academic dishonesty
is defined as cheating of any kind, including misrepresenting one's own work, taking
credit for the work of others without crediting them and without appropriate authorization,
and the fabrication of information.” For the remainder of the code, see:
http://www.gwu.edu/~ntegrity/code.html
Plagiarism in any form is a violation of this Code. Examples of plagiarism include:
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buying or borrowing a paper;
copying a paper entirely or in part from any source;
summarizing a source without adequate citation;
Using thoughts (including wording) belonging to someone else without citation,
etc.
It is also a violation of the Code if the research paper has been used in its entirety
in another class. (A previous paper of yours may be the basis for further research,
but you must discuss this with me in advance).
A violation of the Code results in a grade of F, notification of the Office of Academic
Integrity, and a possible hearing before the Academic Integrity Council.
COURSE OUTLINE
For the two-thirds of the semester, discussions will focus on research methods and tools
and developing your proposal. For the final third of the course, you will be assigned as a
“discussant” for two of the presentations.
January 13: Introduction and Discussion: Choosing a Research Topic
Greenlaw, Ch. 1 (What is Research?) and 2 (Overview of the Research Process).
http://home.gwu.edu/~cdwei/disertopictips.pdf
http://people.ischool.berkeley.edu/~hal/Papers/how.pdf
http://www.econ.ilstu.edu/UAUJE/awards/index.shtml
http://www.nber.org/programs/
http://www.econbrowser.com/
http://www.rgemonitor.com/
January 20: Library Research
We will meet in Gelman 300 where the library's economics specialist, Shmuel
Ben-Gad, will introduce you to a variety of resources for preparing research papers.
Read Greenlaw’s examination of the paper by David Romer (Greenlaw, Ch.6.),
for January 27. Pay attention to the structure of the papers.
January 27: Reading and Writing Economics - I
Greenlaw, Ch. 6 (Critical Reading or How to Make Sense of Published Research)
Greenlaw chapter presents an excellent treatment of how to read an economics
paper. His illustration is based on an article by David Romer (“Do students go to class?
Should they?”, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Summer 1993, pp. 167-74).
February 3 Student Discussion of Provisional Topic Selection
DUE: A two to three page prospectus describing your topic and providing the rudiments
of an outline. You should bring enough copies for everyone in the class and be prepared
to talk about your potential topic for approximately 8 minutes.
Previous econ 198 papers will be distributed for discussion. You are required to read one
of the papers and be prepared to evaluate it in one of the following weeks.
Arrange to meet me between the 3rd and 10th to discuss your prospectus. An approved
prospectus is required by February 10.
February 10: Reading and Writing Economics - II
Greenlaw, Ch. 3 (Surveying the Literature on a Topic in Economics) provides a useful
background for preparing a literature review.
http://home.gwu.edu/~cdwei/liteviewtip.pdf
DUE: An approved prospectus.
February 17: Communicating the Results of a Research Project and Writing a Good
Critique - I
Guest Lecture: Tong Hui (IMF).
February 24: Discussion
Discuss previous econ 198 papers distributed in previous weeks
Writing a good paper, doing and writing a literature survey, presenting statistical results,
using footnotes, and compiling the bibliography.
http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/john.cochrane/research/Papers/phd_paper_writing.pdf
March 3: Communicating the Results of a Research Project and Writing a Good
Critique - II
Guest lecture: Shanjun Li (Resources for the Future)
Due: A written (two or three page) progress report on your paper.
March 10: No Class
March 17: No class - Spring Break
March 24: Presentation and discussion techniques
http://cswep.org/PDFs/top10_list.pdf
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~malex/DiscussantTips.htm
http://home.gwu.edu/~cdwei/replyreferee.pdf
First Draft of Paper Due
March 30 Presentations
April 7 Presentations
April 14 Presentations
April 21 Presentations
Final paper due April 28
SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
DISABILITY SUPPORT SERVICES (DSS)
Any student who may need an accommodation based on the potential impact of a
disability should contact the Disability Support Services office at 202-994-8250 in the
Marvin Center, Suite 242, to establish eligibility and to coordinate reasonable
accommodations. For additional information please refer to: http://gwired.gwu.edu/dss/
UNIVERSITY COUNSELING CENTER (UCC) 202-994-5300
The University Counseling Center (UCC) offers 24/7 assistance and referral to
address students' personal, social, career, and study skills problems. Services for students
include:
- crisis and emergency mental health consultations
- confidential assessment, counseling services (individual and small group), and
referrals
http://gwired.gwu.edu/counsel/CounselingServices/AcademicSupportServices
SECURITY
In the case of an emergency, if at all possible, the class should shelter in place. If the
building that the class is in is affected, follow the evacuation procedures for the building.
After evacuation, seek shelter at a predetermined rendezvous location.