Overview

Finally we are here! We have been spending time looking at the literature. We have pitched someone else’s research. This time, you will pitch your own research idea.

Your Task

Make a written research pitch, pitching your own research plan, using the template in the same folder as this instruction.

Your reverse pitch should include:

The Four – Framing the big picture

A. Working Title

Give a succinct/informative title of your research project.

B. Basic research question

In one (1) sentence, define the scope and terms of reference of your research project.

C. Key papers

Identify the three (3) keys paper which most critically underpins your project. Give their full  reference  details  (again, APA,  Chicago  or  Harvard  style, your  choice  but please be consistent).

D. Motivation/Puzzle

In one (1) short paragraph (about 100 words), capture the core academic motivation – which may include identifying a “puzzle” that you hope to resolve.

The Three basic building blocks – Project specifics

E. Idea

What specifically will you do? How do we go about getting an answer? Do you have a prediction or a hypothesis?

In three (3) to six (6) bullet points (about 100 — 150 words) :

For theory research:

-      Note significant innovation in assumptions, if any.

-     Articulate the main conjecture and the main intuition/strategy of proof of it.

For experimental research:

-      Articulate the central hypothesis(es).

-      Identify  the  key  dependent  (“explained”) variable(s)  and  describe  the

control and treatment(s).

For research using secondary data:

-      Identify    the    key    dependent    (“explained”)    variable    and    the    key test/independent (“explanatory”) variable(s).

-     What is the identification strategy? (E.g., natural experiment, regression discontinuity, instrumental variables, structural estimation, etc.)

If your research has a mix of the above, you should identify the core idea from each part.

F. Data

What are you going to put your ideas to?

Describe, if appropriate, in three (3) to six (6) bullet points (about 100 — 150 words): For research with secondary data :

-     What   data   are   you   intending   to   use?   Describe   its   nature :   E.g., Country/setting; unit of analysis (e.g., individual/firms/sectors/countries, etc).; sampling period and sampling interval (e.g., daily, monthly, quarterly, etc.).

-     Sample   size   and   sampling    nature    (e.g.,   cross-section,   time-series, balanced/unbalanced panel, etc.)

-      Data sources – is the intended data publicly available? If not, what’s the plan of accessing it? Are you going to collect the data yourself?

-      Do  you  foresee  potential  problems  with  the  data  (e.g.,  missing  data, database merging issues)?

For research with experimental data:

-     When  and  where  do  you  intend  to  run  the  experiments?  Are  they laboratory experiments, field experiments or others?

-      What is the intended subject pool?

-      How    are    the    experiments     run?    Computer-based?     Experimenter observations? Interviews? Are real effort tasks involved?

-     Are the experiments individual or do they involve group interactions? If the later, how are subjects matched? (E.g., do they stay in the same match throughout the same experiment, or are they rematched every period? How many matching groups are there?)

-     Is/are the treatment(s) within-subjects or between-subjects? If a subject experiences   multiple   treatments,   how   is   the   order   of   treatments determined?

-      Estimated cost of the experiment.

For theory research (i.e., research with no “real” data):

-      Motivating examples for the theory model

-      Hypothetical examples to which existing theories  provide  unsatisfactory answer but could potentially be answered by the proposed research

-     Anecdotal or “stylised” observations that matches your hypothesis              If the research is a mixed of the above, describe the part that contains actual data. (That is, if it is theoretical research with some actual data, describe the actual data.)

G. Tools

Describe, if appropriate, in three (3) to six (6) bullet points (about 100 — 150 words): For research with secondary data:

-     The  basic econometric  model you  intend to  use  (e.g.,  linear  regression, two-stage least squares, maximum likelihood, etc.)

-     Any econometric techniques you might need in over-coming data obstacles For research with experimental data:

-     Tools for eliciting certain information (e.g., Holt- Laury for risk preference)

-     Any experimental design that is specific to the type of experiments run

-     Statistical tools used for analysing the data

For theory research (i.e., research with no “real” data):

-     The type of the proof (e.g., induction, construction, by contradiction)

-      Notable mathematical/statistical theorems used in the proof

If the research study has a mix of the above, you should identify the core idea from each part.

The Two Important Questions

H. What’s New

In two (2) to four (4) sentences (about 50 — 100 words), indicate the novelty of the research.  Is the  novelty  in the  idea/data/tools? Which  is the  main “driver” of the novelty? Is it being limited by some other elements?

I. So what?

In two (2) to four (4) sentences (about 50 — 100 words), state the “policy implications” of  your  research.  Why  is  it  important  to   know  the  answer?   How  will   major decisions/behaviour/activity etc be influenced by the outcome of this research?

The One Bottomline

J. Contribution

In two (2) to four (4) sentences (about 50 — 100 words), describe the main contribution of the research. What “new doors” may it open? You may wish to note what may happen in a “best case scenario” versus a “worst case scenario” .

Plus One: Other considerations

K. Other considerations

In three sentences (or bullet points), note any concerns or considerations relating to your research plan. For examples, is there sufficient time to complete the research? Would you need ethics clearance? Are you aware of any funding sources (if funds are required)? Would you need specific programming skills to carry out the research?

Resources

The handouts for Lecture 4 (Research Pitching) would be of tremendous help.

You  can  find  more  resources  on  research  pitching,  as  well  as  examples  of  pitches  on https://pitchingresearch.com/resources/ (module 2).

See also the FAQ’s on Blackboard (in the same folder as this instructions).

Format

You should use the Pitching Research Template (downloadable from the course Blackboard site,  in  the  same  folder  as  this  instruction)  for  this  assessment.  The  Pitching  Research template is similar to the Reverse Pitching template you had used for assessment 2, but with some differences – so  please  use the correct template! There  is a cued template  (which includes prompts for you) and an empty template (which you can directly type your pitch in). If you are using a cued template, please delete the cues before submission.

I have also changed the “FoR category” blank in the template to “JEL code(s)” since this course is economics-specific.

You have a word limit of 1000 words (plus or minus 20%). Marks will not be deducted for pitches below 800 words per se (conciseness is a virtue), however, if the lack of words means little information is conveyed, you will likely be hurt on some marking criteria. On the other hand, marks can be deducted for extraneous pitches.

The following guide provides a rough “words budget” for each item. This is just a guide – the words count for each part may vary depending on the research study you are reverse pitching (e.g., theory proposal should get less on “data”).

Suggested words budget

A. Working Title 10 — 20 words

B. Basic Research Question 20 —30 words (1 — 2 sentences)

C. Key papers 60 —70 words (3 full references)

D. Motivation/Puzzle 150 — 200 words (4 — 6 sentences or bullet points)

E. Idea 100 — 150 words (3 — 6 bullet points)

F. Data 100 — 150 words (3 — 6 bullet points)

G. Tool 100 — 150 words (3 — 6 bullet points)

H. What’s new 50 — 100 words (2 —4 sentences)

I. So what? 50 — 100 words (2 —4 sentences)

J. Contribution 50 — 100 words (2 —4 sentences)

K. Other considerations 50 — 100 words (3 sentences or bullet points)

Submission

Submit your completed annotated bibliography electronically to Turnitin through the link on the course Blackboard site before Monday, 12th June 2022 3:00pm Brisbane time.

Requests        for        the        granting        of        extensions        must        be        made        online

via https://my.uq.edu.au/node/218/2#2 with         supporting         documentation before the submission due date/time.  If an extension is approved, the new agreed date for submission will  be  noted  on  the  application  and  the  student  notified  through  their  student  email. Extensions cannot exceed the  number of days you suffered from a  medical condition, as stated on the medical certificate.

Where an extension has not been previously approved, a penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark allocated for the assessment item will be deducted per day for up to 7 calendar days, at which point any submission will not receive any marks unless an extension has been approved. Each 24-hour block is recorded from the time the submission is due.

Marking Criteria

Criteria

•   Clarity and quality of written expression (5)

•    Referencing (5)

Research Topic

•   Statement of objectives of research (5)

•   Justification of research question (5)

10

10

•   Critical use of literature (5)

•    Understanding of relevant economic concepts

Data/Theoretical Analysis and Research Methods 10

•   Data   (empirical   research)   OR   Theoretical   Analysis (theoretical research) (5)

•    Research methods (5)

•    Implication of research (5)

• Limitation/risk of research proposal (5)

Total                                                                                                                                    50

See Appendix A, below, for a detailed marking rubric.

By the way, these criteria and the rubric are closely aligned to the marking criteria and rubric for a Master’s thesis. If your goal is to do a Master’s thesis after this course, you should aspire to achieve the standards set out here.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) provides emerging tools that may support students in completing  this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI in each instance.

A failure to reference AI use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of

Conduct.

Academic Integrity

By  submitting  your  assessment  item,  you  indicate  your  commitment  to  UQ’s  academic integrity pledge as summarised in the following declaration:

“I certify that I have completed this assessment in an honest, fair and trustworthy manner, that my submitted answers are entirely my own work, and that I have neither given nor received any unauthorised assistance on this assessment”.

Appendix A: Marking Criteria and Standards