1. Research Methods II There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” Albert Einstein Introduction and Overview Aju & Julie

2. Game Plan – Day 1  Introduction Course Goals / Expectations Introductions  Exercise/Homework (Thesis exploration)

3. Course Goals  Provide you with the tools to find a research topic and to write your senior thesis  Enhance your ability to read, interpret, and evaluate research in economics and business  Increase your skills for carrying out your own research projects Freedom to act from a position of knowing!!

4. Course Layout & Requirements  First part of course--Julie; Second part of course- -Aju  Research Question Presentation  Homework  Literature Review  Regression Exam  Applied Exercise  Data Presentation Exercise  Research Proposal Presentation  Research Proposal

5. OTHER IMPORTANT FACTS  Methods 2 does not provide credit for Methods 1. You must have Methods 1 or its equivalent on your transcript to graduate.  The deadline for Senior Thesis is the second Friday of the second block after you finish your second thesis block. (EX: Second Thesis Block – Block 6; Deadline Second Friday of Block 8). This is a hard deadline with real consequences.

6. Good Questions  What will happen to Jon and Kate + 8…will they ever get back together? Good question for TV producers but….  Will Gov Mark Sanford finish his term…and if so, who will he be with–his wife or his Argentinean soul mate? Good research question for the people in South Carolina but…  Will health care reform pass? Good question for policymakers but…

7. Good Research Questions  Crime and Punishment in the NFL – The impact of fines on player behavior  The impact of player behavior on product endorsement success (Kobe, Sprite and Colorado)  The impact of job satisfaction on turnover

8. You just might be a researcher if…  You have ever, as a folklore project, tracked the progress of your own joke across the Internet  You rate coffee shops by their availability of outlets and WiFi for your laptop  You actually have a preference for search engines and you what Bing is  You find a book’s bibliography more interesting than the text  You look at the fine print on studies cited in the news to find the error variance  You wonder if Turabian style allows you to cite talking to yourself as “personal communication”

9. What is research and why do we do it?  An inquiry process that… Deepens our understanding of an issue of relevance to the researcher, the organization and the field of economics and business Integrates existing knowledge and creates new knowledge through the weaving together of…  theory and past knowledge  Existing literature  organizational knowledge  Gained through intervention, observation, experimentation, analysis  wisdom and experience of the researcher

10. Introductions  Pair up in groups of 2. Please work with someone you have not worked with before.  Spend 5-7 minutes interviewing each other (see hand-out) (approx 5 minutes a person)  When you are finished with the interview, be prepared to introduce your partner.

11. Thesis Assignment – group and individual work  Get in groups of 4  Go to the library and review CC theses using the homework assignment Come to class with a typed summary of your work Note there is an individual homework assignment as well

13. Good Questions  How do the Chinese gymnasts age 2-3 years every calendar year? Good question for the IOC but….  What new stories could there possibly be for the “new Beverly Hills 90210? Good question for TV advertisers but…  What are the determinants of Brittany Spears aberrant behavior? Good research question in Psych but…