Objectives
The seminar provides support for students who are writing their master thesis in economics (in either Master program, "Economics" or "Management and Applied Economics"). The main goal of the seminar is constructive criticism to help each of our students in the preparation of their thesis. Each student has to give two presentations which shall help with the organization of the work by setting concrete goals and timetables. In the summer term 2018, Prof. Michael Landesmann, will organize the seminar. Each session will be attended by at least two members of the Department, the organizer and the student's advisor; the presentations cannot be held without the attendance of the advisor! All other members of the department and fellow students are also invited to attend the presentations. In the first session, we shall discuss the general guidelines and recommendations. In the remaining sessions, each student will give two presentations. In the first presentation, the student shall present the outline of the thesis. In the second presentation, the student will present the main results from the thesis, based on two core chapters.
Prerequisites & Meetings
During the preparatory meeting, we shall attempt to fix a schedule for the presentations. The final number of sessions will depend on the overall demand and are subject to change. Please apply for the timing of the presentations in accordance with your advisor. You should discuss the presentations with him/her before you arrange a presentation! The presentations cannot be held without the attendance of your advisor! Each session is limited to a maximum of five outline-presentations or three core-presentations.
Course Grading
Students will be graded according to the two presentations and will pass if both presentations are positively graded. In the first presentation (of about 15 minutes in length), the student shall explain the question, method, content, and the structure of the thesis. The second presentation (of about 20 minutes in length) shall cover the most important findings of two major sections of the thesis. After each presentation, the participants will discuss the thesis (outline) in a constructive manner. In total we will spent about 30 minutes on each presentation. Presentation slides have to be sent to heidelinde.derntl@jku.at least 3 working-days prior to the presentation date. For the second presentation, students also have to submit two major chapters of their thesis.
Attendance
All participants of the seminar have to be present at every appointment.
Some useful references:
- Finding a Topic and getting started
- Finding a Supervisor
- Robert Runté (2010), Choosing a Thesis or Project Supervisor, öffnet eine externe URL in einem neuen Fenster.
- Writing
- Cochrane, John (n.d.), Writing Tips for Ph.D. Students, öffnet eine externe URL in einem neuen Fenster.
- Dudenhefer, Paul (2009), A Guide to Writing in Economics, öffnet eine externe URL in einem neuen Fenster, lupus.econ.duke.edu/ecoteach/undergrad/manual.pdf, öffnet eine externe URL in einem neuen Fenster.
- McCloskey, Deirdre, "Economical Writing", öffnet eine externe URL in einem neuen Fenster, Economic Inquiry 24(2), 187-222.
- Thomson, William (1999), "The Young Person's Guide to Writing Economic Theory", öffnet eine externe URL in einem neuen Fenster, Journal of Economic Literature, 37(1), 157183.
- Thomson, William (2001), "A Guide for the Young Economist", öffnet eine externe URL in einem neuen Fenster, MIT Press.
- Varian, Hal R. (1994), "How to Build an Economic Model in Your Spare Time", öffnet eine externe URL in einem neuen Fenster.
- Talks
- Shapiro, Jesse M. (n.d.), How to Give an Applied Micro Talk: Unauthoritative Notes, öffnet eine externe URL in einem neuen Fenster.
- The science of stage fright (Required watching for any TED speaker), öffnet eine externe URL in einem neuen Fenster(video, 4:07).