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Don't Put the Cart Before the Horse: Teaching the Economic Approach to Empirical Research

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Author Info
Bradley A. Hansen
Mary Eschelbach Hansen () (Department of Economics, American University)
Abstract

When students are taught how to do original research in courses outside economics, they are taught to begin with the collection of data. This is not the approach followed by economists, who typically begin an answer to a research question by developing a model. The model then guides the search for evidence. We argue that the economic approach is more likely to lead to the development of a persuasive argument, and that greater awareness of the contrast between the economic approach and its alternatives can enable economists to improve the teaching of the research process.

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File URL: http://www.american.edu/academic.depts/cas/econ/workingpapers/2005-12.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function: First version, 2005
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Publisher Info
Paper provided by American University, Department of Economics in its series Working Papers with number 2005-12.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length: 22 pages
Date of creation: Dec 2005
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:amu:wpaper:1205

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Web page: http://www.american.edu/cas/economics/

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Thomas Meal).

Related research
Keywords: teaching economics; research methods;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
A20 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - General
A12 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Other Disciplines

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2000. "The Contributions Of The Economics Of Information To Twentieth Century Economics," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 115(4), pages 1441-1478, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Shaban, Radwan Ali, 1987. "Testing between Competing Models of Sharecropping," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 95(5), pages 893-920, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. McCloskey, Donald N, 1983. "The Rhetoric of Economics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 21(2), pages 481-517, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Blinder, Alan S, 1991. "Why Are Prices Sticky? Preliminary Results from an Interview Study," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(2), pages 89-96, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. Garfinkel, Michelle R & Glazer, Amihai, 1994. "Does Electoral Uncertainty Cause Economic Fluctuations?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(2), pages 169-73, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Robert Sproule & C?lin Vâlsan, 2009. "The student evaluation of teaching: its failure as a research program, and as an administrative guide," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 11(25), pages 125-150, February. [Downloadable!]
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This page was last updated on 2009-12-20.

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