Master theses and dissertations

With your master thesis (or master dissertation) you show that you can do original scientific research and that you can write about it.

• ...You can find an interesting research question,
• ...you find methods that help you in obtaining an answer to this question,
• ...you can apply theses methods,
• ...and you can communicate what you are doing in a clear and precise way.

You have trained these abilities in the essays you have written so far. In your thesis or dissertation you show that you can apply them independently. Independence does not mean that you have to write your thesis or dissertation without any guidance. You should consult your supervisor regularly and check that you are on track - but the work has to be done by yourself.

The research question

You should make a serious effort to find a research question. This demonstrates your scientific competence. If you have difficulties finding a good question then we can help you to find something interesting. Otherwise, try the following steps:

• One focus of this chair is experimental economics. You should start with a question from this area, i.e. a question that can be answered with the help of experiments. This question should be original.

  Current research can be inspiring. Read, e.g., current issues of Econometrica, American Economic Review, Review of Economic Studies, etc. and find out what researchers are currently discussing. If you have the feeling that the current discussion leaves questions aside and that these questions can be answered with an experiment then you might have a starting point.

  Alternatively you can look at current experiments. Read the journal Experimental Economics and look for improvements in the experiments that are presented there.

• Once you have a question you should make some routine tests:
  • What do you know about answers to this question? Think about lectures you have heard, literature you can read, search the internet, etc... Have similar questions already been discussed in the literature? Which gap do you want to close with your study?
  • What possibilities do you have to find an answer to this question? Include experimental and non-experimental methods.
  • What are advantages and disadvantates of the experimental method?
  • Is it possible that your experiment yields a surprising answer?
  • Do you have an idea for an experimental design? Is this the simplest possible design to answer your question?
• These points should help you in your search for a good research question. Once you are satisfied with your question (provided that you are still within the topic of Empirical and Experimental Economics) you should make an appointment and we should talk about the details of your study.
• Given the restrictions for the size of your study it is usually not possible to perform all steps (preparation of an experiment, development, implementation, running the experiment, analysis of the data) in the available time. A master thesis or master disseratation can concentrate on a subset of these steps, e.g. mainly present an interesting design for an experiment and only briefly discuss details of the implementation and analysis of the data. Be realistic - you can never explain the world in a master thesis.

If you want to skip the step "finding a research question": Here are two questions I find interesting:

• Estimating the variance with experimental data. A comparison of nonparametric methods with random effects models and robust estimators.

  If you choose this question you should be familiar with statistical software like R.

• Auction Design and Tacit Collusion in FCC Spectrum Auctions

  There is an NBER Working Paper (W14441) by Patrick Bajari and Jungwon Yeo with this title. This paper could be a starting point for your literature search..

Writing your master thesis or master dissertation

The guidelines for essays also apply to master theses or dissertations:

• In a brief essay you can not explain the world. You have to choose: Which points do you want to explain and which points are marginal.

  Examine your structure carefully. Are the points you find crucial really crucial? Which of the "marginal" points are relevant at all?

  Once you have found a clear structure, follow your structure and help your readers and your audience to understand your structure. Captions, headings, introductory sentences and brief summaries at the end of a section help your reader and your audience to understand and to follow your structure.

  Sometimes you have to rush through some steps of an argument (the argument is perhaps not so important that you want to present it with a lot of detail). This can be frustrating for your reader or your audience, unless you tell them in advance that they are supposed to miss something.

• A model or an example can provide a frame for your work.

  Tell a story. The historical development of a discussion of a topic can provide a frame for your work, too.

• Choose a target audience. Make sure that your target audience can follow your essay and your presentation. Make also sure that your target audience finds our work interesting.

  Usually it is best if your choose students from your level as a target audience. Tell your story in a simple way, so that they understand, and tell it in an interesting way, so that they learn something new.

  Choosing professors as your target audience is problematic. Certainly, they might sometimes understand quicker, but it might also be harder to tell them something new and interesting.

• Use formulas and diagrams when they are necessary. Examine each element of your work. Is it really necessary? Does it help your audience? If the element is trivial, then you better leave it out. If the element is too complicated, replace it with a simpler one that your audience can understand.

  If you are not sure that you understand what you are writing, then your readers will not understand, either.

• The following structure is only an example:
  1. An introduction helps your reader. Explain why your research question is important and interesting. What is the relation between your question and the literature?
  2. The next section presents the theoretical modell that provides the framework of your analysis. If there are several models, try to be clear. What belongs to the framework you are using, and what is a digression or a comparison with something else?
  3. An empirical study often presents hypotheses after the model.
  4. Then you present your empirical or theoretical results. In this section you will, usually, come back to your hypotheses.
  5. A good summary helps the reader a lot. Explain which answers you gave are important. What is the take-home message?
  6. Bibliography
  7. Appendix:
     • Table of independent observations
     • Instructions for the experiment
     • Proofs
     • ...
  Help your reader to understand structure and content. Explain how the elements of your work build upon each other.
• Short sentences are better than long sentences. Omit useless words.
• A reasonable length for a master thesis in my field is 20 to 35 pages. A long text does not prove your enthusiasm and diligence but shows lack of discipline. Is is easy to spend vague and unnecessary words. It is much harder to make a clear but brief point. Show courage! Defend a clear position!

  Rewrite your text frequently. In every revision cut everything that is not necessary.

• Is is a matter of taste whether you use the first person (I, we) more or less frequently. In any case, try to be clear and simple. Avoid passive voice.

  It should be clear what is your contribution and what is somebody elses contribution. Avoid constructions like "...this position is problematic..." or "...one can argue that...". Who finds this position problematic and who is the person who argues like this? Is this you or somebody else? Instead say either "...Sabine Müller (2007) does not share this view and argues..." or "...I do not share this view...".

  Defend a clear position and help your reader to understand this position.

  Brief citations in your text ("Gabrielle Demange (1992)") refer to the bibliography at the end.

• Mention all sources of all arguments, regardless whether you quote word by word or whether you only reproduce the spirit of an argument. Follow the rules of good scientific practice.

Literature:

• William Thomson; A Guide for the Young Economist; The MIT Press, 2001.
• William Strunk Jr., E.B. White, Roger Angell; The Elements of Style; Fourth Edition, Longman, 2000.