The Advanced Research Essay (ECON8887) forms a two-semester long course (12 units) with the aim to provide Master of Economics students who have excelled academically in the first year of their masters program, an option to conduct an extended supervised research project. Students will conduct independent study on a particular topic chosen in agreement with their supervisor, write a literature review on this topic, prepare a proposal for an extended research essay, and carry out the extended research essay.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Identify and develop a suitable and feasible research essay topic
2. Analyse relevant literature to the topic
3. Apply appropriate economic methods of analysis.
4. Conduct independent analysis and research project on the selected economic problem
5. Use software, databanks and other tools relevant for research.
6. Ability to present research outcomes to an audience of economists.
7. Develop advanced research skills applicable to tackle a wide range of economic problems.

Research-Led Teaching

In consultation with their supervisor, students will develop an original research topic and conduct an extended research project over 2 consecutive semesters. The research undertaken by the student is expected to contain original ideas or novel extensions of previous works from the relevant economics literature, and to provide an in-depth analysis of the chosen topic. The writing of the research essay constituting the final project report is expected to conform to professional academic and English language standards as appropriate for publications in high quality economics journals.

Field Trips

Data collection if relevant.

Examination Material or equipment

Required Resources

Data sets if needed.

Recommended Resources

To be determined on an individual basis in consultation with the supervisor.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• written comments
• verbal comments
• feedback to whole class, groups, individuals, focus group etc

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Project Proposal and Progress Report	Due around Week 10 of first semester of enrolment.
2	Presentation of Proposal and of Work in Progress	Due around Week 11 of first semester of enrolment.
3	Project Report	Due around Week 11 of second semester of enrolment. The report will be assessed by Two (or Three) examiners independent of thesis supervisor(s).

Tutorial Registration

N/A

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Learning Outcomes
Project Proposal and Progress Report (Mandatory, Hurdle)	0 %	09/05/2022	1,2,3,6
Presentation of Proposal and of Work in Progress (Mandatory, Hurdle)	0 %	16/05/2022	6
Project Report	100 %	16/05/2022	3,4,5,6,7

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Integrity . In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

Students will receive regular feedback from their supervisor on their progress in the course, at approximately 2 week intervals or as agreed with supervisor, depending on the stage and progress of their research.

Assessment Task 1

Project Proposal and Progress Report (Mandatory, Hurdle)

A written project proposal and progress report is due on WATTLE typically in Week 10 of the first semester of enrolment in the course. In your proposal, you should include:

• A working title and name of supervisor(s) - chair supervisor must be from the RSE
• What is the economic question? Why is of interest to study?
• Short, critical literature discussion. How does your work add to or differ from the literature?
• Methodology.
• Any preliminary results and insights.
• Progress report and expected timeline to completion.

Feedback will be given by the supervisor. This is a hurdle assessment in line with the student assessment coursework policy (see https://policies.anu.edu.au/ppl/document/ANUP_004603). You must complete this task in order to be eligible to continue to your second semester of enrolment in the course.

Assessment Task 2

Presentation of Proposal and of Work in Progress (Mandatory, Hurdle)

Live presentation (typically 30 minutes including 5 minute Q&A to be held in Week 11 or 12 of your first semester of enrolment in the course).

Students should discuss format of their presentation with their respective supervisors.

The talk should include the following elements:

• What is the economic question? Why is of interest to study?
• Critical literature discussion. How does your work add to or differ from the literature?
• Methodology.
• Any preliminary results and insights.
• Progress report and expected timeline to completion.

Your presentation may be video and audio recorded for training and feedback purposes. Feedback will be given by the supervisor and potentially by audience members.

This is a hurdle assessment in line with the student assessment coursework policy (see https://policies.anu.edu.au/ppl/document/ANUP_004603). You must complete this task in order to be eligible to continue to your second semester of enrolment in the course.

Assessment Task 3

Project Report

Completion of the research project is a year long activity (over your first and second semesters of enrolment in the course). A research essay constituting your final project report is due at the end of week 11 of your second semester of enrolment in the course. Details are as follows:

Essay Format, Research Integrity and Scientific Replicability

Format:

Your essay should be no more than 15,000 words in length AND no more than 80 physical pages that include text, graphics, tables, references and appendices (i.e., the entire submitted thesis document).

The word and page limits do not apply to supplementary material such as code files, documentation for code and data.

Regular text should have at least 12-point sized fonts and page margins (i.e., top, bottom, left and right) should be no less than 3cm.

The essay must meet normal academic standards (i.e. be typed with all cited work properly referenced in a bibliography). 

Template LaTeX files will be supplied to you at the start of the course.

When uploading to WATTLE:

• Please name your PDF file according to this convention: thesis_ID-NUMBER_LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME.pdf. Example: thesis_u5678901_Bauer_Jack.pdf
• Label the zipped file using the following file-naming convention: source_ID-NUMBER_LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME.zip. For example: source_u5678901_Bauer_Jack.zip.

Scientific Replicability and Honesty:

If your essay involves theoretical claims (theorems, propositions, lemmas), then written proofs must be clearly presented and explained in the essay.

If your claims involve existing observations/results proven by other researchers, then you must clearly cite their respective sources, but you must still explain these intermediate results; and/or:

If your essay involves the following: 

1. Data, and,
2. computer source code and/or routine files (e.g. Python, Julia, MATLAB, R, C/C++, Fortran scripts/modules/executables, Stata DO files, Eviews workfiles), 

then you must upload them separately as an archived (i.e., zipped) file. 

Any parts of your code that are attributable and copyright to other authors must be acknowledged in your thesis and source codes.

Proprietary data and source code: Should you be working with data or codes that are claimed to be closed to inspection or verification (i.e., proprietary material) then you must get your supervisor to write and sign a statutory declaration stating so. This declaration must refer specifically to the components of your thesis that are claimed to be proprietary. Failure to do so may render the thesis un-examinable.

Thesis Examination Policy at RSE:

Examiners' Reports: 

Every Masters Research Essay must be examined by TWO academics in RSE (and not including the Essay Advisor). 

Each examiner must prepare an independent and detailed report on, and must assign a whole mark (0-100 percent) to, the essay. 

Examiners should not communicate with each other, the student, nor the Essay Advisor in all matters reasonably construed to be related to the Essay.

The examiner may choose to reveal his/her identity.

Every faculty member of RSE is expected to contribute to this service. Whenever feasible, at least one examiner will be of a senior rank (i.e., Level D or E faculty member) to ensure that the students benefit from our more experienced faculty members.

Final Mark Resolution: 

The RSE Examiners' Meeting has the sole authority to decide on an Essay's final mark. If the initial examiner reports are “drastically different” (*) in their respective award of marks, the following procedure for determining the final mark will be followed:

The Meeting must hear explanations from the Examiners and also consider their reports along with the supervisor's report on the student's work;

The supervisor of the essay must not be present during the deliberations on the essay’s final mark;

The Meeting may request for an independent Third Examiner, and/or,

The Meeting may also require the relevant student to attend an Oral Defence of his/her essay.

An Oral Defence committee must comprise all the essay Examiners, the supervisor, the ECON8887 convenor, and any external members who may be appointed at the leisure of the Director. The Oral Defence may be open for attendance by anyone within RSE.

(*) The definition of “drastically different” will be decided by the Meeting.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically, committing to honest and responsible scholarly practice and upholding these values with respect and fairness.

The ANU commits to assisting all members of our community to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle and Academic Misconduct Rule, uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with.

The Academic Misconduct Rule is in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Very minor breaches of the academic integrity principle may result in a reduction of marks of up to 10% of the total marks available for the assessment. The ANU offers a number of online and in person services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. Visit the Academic Skills website for more information about academic integrity, your responsibilities and for assistance with your assignments, writing skills and study.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Individual assessment tasks may or may not allow for late submission. Policy regarding late submission is detailed below:

• Late submission not permitted. If submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date is not permitted, a mark of 0 will be awarded.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students