1) The document provides guidance on formulating a research question and identifying relevant literature. It emphasizes that reviewing existing literature is crucial before developing a research question to ensure it is original and has not already been addressed. 2) A flowchart is presented outlining the process of narrowing down a research area of interest and then identifying a research question within that area. Common mistakes like questions being too broad or not justified are also discussed. 3) Tips are provided on searching for relevant papers and literature through resources like Google Scholar, the library, and e-journals. Evaluating whether a potential research question has been adequately studied in prior work is an important part of the process.

1. Formulating a research question
and identifying literature
Luciano Rispoli

2. Formulating a research question
 Before you begin writing a research proposal, take some time to map out
your research strategy. A necessary first step is to formulate a research
question.
• A Research Question is a statement that identifies the phenomenon to be
studied. For example, “Does monetary policy affect the economy?”
• A valid and clear research question is:
 well justified;
 original;
 feasible;
 focused;
 falls within the area of economics

3. Literature review and research
question
• In order to come up with an original
research question you need to know (very
well) the literature in the area first!
• Find out what has been done and how you
can contribute to the existing academic
debate.

4. Identifying a research question
flow - chart

5. I don’t have a research question, where do I start?
Narrow down a research area of interest
1) Narrow down an area of interest (i.e. Growth theory, monetary
policy, fiscal policy etc.)
2) Within that area of interest try to answer a research question that:
a) Has either not been addressed before;
b) Or has been addressed but that you could extend in a significant way
(i.e. new data-set, different econometric/theoretical approach etc.);
c) Or pioneer a new research area of economics (not recommended)
Note: before you identify a research question it is crucial that you narrow
down a research area of interest!

6. Literature review ( when I don’t
have a research question )
Read as much as you can on the topic!
Remember recent publications/studies will contain a more updated
literature so try collect these first! Then read backwards to the most
dated studies.
Make sure you read all relevant papers (or at least the most
influential ones)
Ideas on the research topic often come from this exercise (i.e.
author X has not included factor Y in his study, so maybe I could look
into factor Y)
The more you read the easier will be to come up with a research
question.

7. Literature review (when I think I
have a research question)
Reviewing the literature will enable you to understand whether your
research question has been already answered / is a potentially valid one.
Also, by reading previous studies you might get ideas on how to tweak your
original research question into a brand new one.
Again, start by reading recent publications/studies first.
Bottom line, whether you have or do not have a research question it is
crucial that you review the literature in the area FIRST!
Many students commit the mistake of leaving the literature review as the
last step, however this is very dangerous! As you might find that the
question has already been addressed or discarded by the literature because
not relevant/important/not feasible.

8. Where do I look for
papers/relevant literature?
Main sources:
Google scholar
Library (e-resources)

9. E-resources

10. Encore

11. Log-in with your student ID to
access the e-journal article

12. Google scholar

13. Search Bernanke, Gertler and
Gilchrist in Google search

14. Library help

15. Common mistakes when identifying new
research questions
1. Non originality
2. Non feasibility:
a) Time constraint (don’t have enough time)
b) Resources (lack of data, codes)
c) Knowledge (Do I know how to apply model X ? Can I
learn in the limited amount of time?)
3. Too broadly defined research question
4. Not well justified
5. Lacking economic content

16. Tips
Start searching for a topic as early as possible (today)
Once you narrow down a topic/area, look at the relevant literature
(i.e. carry out a literature review)
Once you have passed the literature review test (has it been already
done? No, why not? Is it interesting/relevant?)
Ask your self:
Is the question specific (not too broad?)
Is it feasible in the allotted time?
Do I have enough resources (codes, data) to answer this question?
How about knowledge (econometrics, theoretical modelling) ?
Is the research question falling within economics?
If the answer is Yes to all the previous questions congratulations, you
have a research question!

17. Topics, techniques and methods:
macro and monetary dissertations
Luciano Rispoli

19. Find out the distribution of marks

20. Best MSc thesis archive

21. Best MSc thesis archive
Years included: 2006-2015
Highest scoring MSc theses archive
Notice the Difference between title of proposal and title of
dissertation!

22. Topics in monetary and macro-
economics titles (some)

23. Techniques & methods (some)
Time varying parameters (VARs)
Kalman filter techniques
DSGE (Dynamic stochastic general
equilibrium models) – Heterogeneous
agents
GARCH, ARCH models
SETAR (Self-Exciting Threshold Auto-
Regressive models)

24. How to present, evaluate and
discuss empirical results
Luciano Rispoli

25. In this section we will learn how to:
• Present;
• Evaluate;
• discuss
the dissertation results.

26. How to present data/results?
 use charts or tables to help the reader understand the
data and to highlight the most interesting findings;
 analyze the data rather than just describing it - use it to
tell a story that focuses on answering the research
question;
 describe everything in details (sources, data,
methodology)
 Clarity, brevity and accuracy are key !

27. How to present results? Example I

28. How to present results? Example II

29. How to present results? Example III

30. How to present results? Example 4

31. Evaluate and discuss your results
What are the discernible patterns in your
results and theories?
What are the exceptions to these patterns?
What is likely to cause these patterns and
exceptions?
Are your results in agreement or
disagreement with previous research?

32. Evaluate and discuss your results cont’d
What is the relationship of your results to your original
research question?
What are the implications of your results for the wider
discipline?
There may be several theories to explain these results –
include them all, with supporting evidence for each.
What is the significance of your findings – the ‘so what?’
statement.

33. Conclusions
 What is the strongest and most significant finding of your research?
 Refer back to your research problem and show how your conclusions
were reached logically from your method and results
 Include the broader implications of your results
 Thus, you should conclude by summarizing the implications of your
findings in brief, and explain why they are important for researchers
and in practice, and provide some suggestions for further work.

34. Let’s see how apply these principles to a past
thesis.

35. Does Quantitative Easing Have
Any Effects on Macroeconomic
Variables Through the Inflation
Expectation Channel?

36. Does Quantitative Easing Have Any Effects on
Macroeconomic Variables Through the Inflation
Expectation Channel? (Abstract)

37. Methodology and data
(Bayesian VAR)

38. Methodology and data
(Bayesian VAR) cont’d

39. Present data (asset purchases)

40. Present results (MSFE for
tightness of lambda)

41. Results US

42. Results Japan

43. Evaluation of results

44. Presentation results US Inflation
expectations

45. Presentation Japan Inflation
expectations

46. Evaluation of results – inflation
expectations

47. Robustness checks

48. Robustness checks results
presentation

49. Conclusions

50. Conclusions cont’d

51. Conclusions cont’d