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Preliminary Research Project Guide

1. Introduction
The research project is a unique opportunity for you to develop some important skills.
You will define and execute a piece of research in finance on a topic of your choice,
with direction from a supervisor. In the process youll be required to:

Use your own initiative for self-directed study

Survey the literature in your chosen area

Structure a research plan

Obtain and analyze relevant data

Write the project

If you wish to go on to undertake a postgraduate study (MSc/MA and PhD), you are
strongly advised to undertake the research project as it provides a shorter but broadly
similar experience. It will illustrate your capacity for independent work, organizational
qualities, and ability to express yourself effectively. Often the project is used to
showcase your work and provide a platform for discussion at job interviews, also act
as a springboard to further research.
2. Choice of Topic
This is the hardest part of the project. It is usually an interaction between:
(a) an interesting question and
(b) the available data.
Both are essential.
2.1 The Question
(a) Look for small specific questions that can be answered to a high standard.
(b) Do NOT choose big wide ranging questions which you cannot begin to properly
answer in a few months.
(c) Think small and focused. Small questions always get bigger.
(d) Filling up the words is never a problem - quite the reverse.
(e) Look at the recent journals and find an empirical study which could guide you for
developing your idea and realising your analysis using similar methodology. For
Dr. Angela Ya Gao

Y.Gao3@brighton.ac.uk

finding references, please use the Online Journal Finder in online library,
University of Brighton library webpage.
2.2 Data
The type of data for your research is methodology-depending, qualitative or
quantitative?
The mainstream research in finance area is using quantitative method, which
depends on your level of computing expertise and your level of statistics (using
SPSS, STATA or Excel data analysis package, etc.). Popular databases used in
finance area include: Reuters, Bloomberg, and Datastream, etc. A lot of data can
now be obtained free of charge on the internet.
Qualitative method can also be used, which depends on your knowledge of
qualitative research software such as QDAS, ATLAS, etc. The data normally need
to be collected through interviews, questionnaires, etc.
3. Analysis
Empirical research is not a linear process.

Look for shortcomings in what you are doing.

Test or examine any assumptions you are making: robustness?

Be critical.

4. Task at this stage: Preliminary Proposal


The preliminary proposal should not exceed one A4 page and should contain:
Project title
One paragraph on related literature
A very brief description of the theory/empirical work that you plan, including
data sources and description, including the period and frequency
Reasons why this should be of interest to other people, i.e. research contribution.
5. Important notes:
Plagiarism, Time Management (a notional 200 hours of your time), use your
supervisor.
Dr. Angela Ya Gao

Y.Gao3@brighton.ac.uk

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