ECON 3113f

Professor: Arne Kildegaard

Office: Camden 202, phone: x6190

Office hours: Monday 2:30-4:30 p.m.; Thurs. 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Also available at other times, by appointment, please.

Description: This course is conceived as a capstone experience for the undergraduate major in Economics and/or Management. In keeping with this, the idea is for you to develop a substantial research project, using theory and evidence to arrive at an explanation of the phenomenon you choose to analyze.

The class will meet as a group only for the first three weeks. Each student should set up an appointment to meet with me individually during the 4^th week (or earlier!), so that we might begin to define research projects. I anticipate that by the end of October, after about three individual meetings in my office and some considerable intervening thought and effort on your part and mine, that each student will have a well defined research project and a preliminary bibliography.

The discipline requirements for this course (see following page) include attendance at at least 15 peer research presentations during the academic year, as well as 25-30 minute presentation of an original project in the same forum. I add to this the following milestone requirements:

i) you must receive my written approval for your topic and bibliography before Thanksgiving break

ii) you must hand in a 5-7 page research brief, outlining the key findings of your project; the research brief is due February 15^th, or 2 weeks before your presentation – whichever comes first

iii) you must receive my written approval for your power-point presentation at least one-week prior to your presentation date.

Grades will be based:

40% on your preparedness for our individual meetings

10% on your bibliography and research prospectus

15% on your research brief

25% on your presentation

10% on your ability to handle questions, following your presentation

For University of Minnesota policies on 1) Grading Standards, 2) Make-up Exams, and 3) Student Academic Workload, as well as University statements on 1) Accommodations for Students with Disabilities, 2) Classroom Conduct, 3) Academic Misconduct, and 4) Sexual Harassment, see the web-based syllabus at: http://cda.mrs.umn.edu/~kildegac

Senior Research Seminar in Econ and Mgmt—General guidelines

All students graduating from UMM with a Management or Economics major must complete a senior research seminar (Econ 4501).

The senior research seminars are guided research sessions that will vary to some degree by subject and by instructor. However, there are four components common to all sections of this course:

I. Research projects must be completed in cooperation with and under the CLOSE supervision of the instructor for the course. Projects usually entail a weekly or bi-weekly meeting with your instructor. Minimally, you MUST keep your instructor abreast of your progress throughout your enrollment in the seminar. Research completed without your instructors knowledge or oversight will not be accepted as meeting the seminar’s objectives.

II. Students must complete an individual research project that culminates in a 25-30 minute presentation to the economics and management faculty and their peers. The intention of the presentation is to create an opportunity for you to share your ideas with a wider audience. Your instructor will assign you a presentation date from among a limited number of options.

III. Students must attend at least 15 research seminar presentations prior to being assigned a grade in the seminar. This requirement may be waived under exceptional circumstances and with prior approval. We hope to begin 2009-10 presentations in late November. Look for later announcements.

IV. Students must participate in the seminar. In practice, this means that all students will be assigned the task of asking questions of two speakers during the 2009-10 seminar presentations. These assignments will be made once our seminar schedule is complete.

Other expectations for the project (e.g. case study, literature review, annotated bibliography, statistical analysis, paper length, detailed outline) will be determined through your work with the instructor of the course, although all projects should be grounded in the academic literature relevant to the subject area.

All Research Topics courses have been scheduled at 3:30 on Wednesdays to facilitate the last three requirements. Professor Bart Finzel will be organizing the seminar this year and tracking your attendance. Please see him to determine your standing regarding III above.

Grading: Please note that all students will be assigned a “K” grade (the course is continuing) until the above are complete.

A Represents achievement that is outstanding relative to the level necessary to meet course requirements.

B Represents achievement that is significantly above the level necessary to meet course requirements.

D Represents achievement that is worthy of credit even though it fails to meet fully the course requirements.

S Represents achievement that is satisfactory, which is equivalent to a C- or better.

F (or N) -- Represents failure (or no credit) and signifies that the work was either (1) completed but at a level of achievement that is not worthy of credit or (2) was not completed and there was no agreement between the instructor and the student that the student would be awarded an I (see also I)

I -- (Incomplete) Assigned at the discretion of the instructor when, due to extraordinary circumstances, e.g., hospitalization, a student is prevented from completing the work of the course on time. Requires a written agreement between instructor and student.

Make-up quizzes and exams are available only when a student has an excellent reason for missing the regular quiz or exam and arrangements are made either before the missed quiz or exam or as quickly as humanly possible thereafter.

For undergraduate courses, one credit is defined as equivalent to an average of three hours of learning effort per week (over a full semester) necessary for an average student to achieve an average grade (C) in the course. For example, a student taking a four credit course that meets for four hours a week should expect to spend an additional eight hours a week on course work outside the classroom.

As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down, difficulty concentrating and/or lack of motivation. These mental health concerns or stressful events may lead to diminished academic performance or reduce your ability to participate in daily activities. University of Minnesota services are available to assist you with addressing these and other concerns you may be experiencing. You can learn more about the broad range of confidential mental health services available on campus via www.mentalhealth.umn.edu.

Students are expected to interact with the instructor and other students with respect and courtesy. Students should attend every class session prepared to learn and work. Participation in class is expected, which includes both speaking up and listening. Give class your full attention while here. Complete all assignments including the reading -- in a timely fashion. Do not bring cell phones or recording equipment to class without the instructor's consent. Students whose behavior is disruptive either to the instructor or to other students will be asked to leave. Students whose behavior suggests the need for counseling or other assistance may be referred to counseling services. Students whose behavior violates the University Student Conduct Code will be subject to disciplinary action.

Scholastic dishonesty means plagiarizing; cheating on assignments or examinations; engaging in unauthorized collaboration on academic work; taking, acquiring, or using test materials without faculty permission; submitting false or incomplete records of academic achievement; acting alone or in cooperation with another to falsify records or to obtain dishonestly grades, honors, awards, or professional endorsement; altering forging, or misusing a University academic record; or fabricating or falsifying data, research procedures, or data analysis. In this course, a student responsible for scholastic dishonesty can be assigned a penalty up to and including an "F" or "N" for the course. If you have any questions regarding the expectations for a specific assignment or exam, ask.