IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ireced/v41y2022ics1477388022000160.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Adapting the case method in an economics capstone research course

Author

Listed:
  • Depro, Brooks
  • Rouse, Kathryn

Abstract

Recent research suggests educators can enhance the depth of capstone projects by assigning projects with real-world applications. We illustrate how the case method can be adapted for an undergraduate research experience course. We present an example case study project used in an economic consulting capstone course. Student teams receive a case narrative that includes a real-world request for a proposal. In response, they must formulate a research question, identify and analyze appropriate data to address it, and prepare several business memorandums, a final proposal, and an oral presentation to share their findings. We argue that while traditional undergraduate research helps students develop general data literacy and critical thinking skills, a case study format is better suited to simulate how these skills will be used once students enter their professional lives.

Suggested Citation

  • Depro, Brooks & Rouse, Kathryn, 2022. "Adapting the case method in an economics capstone research course," International Review of Economics Education, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ireced:v:41:y:2022:i:c:s1477388022000160
    DOI: 10.1016/j.iree.2022.100249
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1477388022000160
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.iree.2022.100249?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Garret Christensen & Edward Miguel, 2018. "Transparency, Reproducibility, and the Credibility of Economics Research," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 56(3), pages 920-980, September.
    2. Joseph C. Morreale & Anna Shostya, 2021. "Teaching an economics capstone course with a policy focus," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(2), pages 102-113, March.
    3. Amanda Bayer & David W. Wilcox, 2019. "The unequal distribution of economic education: A report on the race, ethnicity, and gender of economics majors at U.S. colleges and universities," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(3), pages 299-320, July.
    4. Stephen B. Deloach & Elizabeth Perry-Sizemore & Mary O. Borg, 2012. "Creating Quality Undergraduate Research Programs in Economics: How, When, Where (And Why)," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 57(1), pages 96-110, May.
    5. Amanda Bayer & Syon P. Bhanot & Erin T. Bronchetti & Stephen A. O'Connell, 2020. "Diagnosing the Learning Environment for Diverse Students in Introductory Economics: An Analysis of Relevance, Belonging, and Growth Mindsets," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 110, pages 294-298, May.
    6. W. Lee Hansen, 2001. "Expected Proficiencies for Undergraduate Economics Majors," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(3), pages 231-242, January.
    7. Amanda Bayer & Gregory Bruich & Raj Chetty & Andrew Housiaux, 2020. "Expanding and diversifying the pool of undergraduates who study economics: Insights from a new introductory course at Harvard," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(3-4), pages 364-379, September.
    8. Dewald, William G & Thursby, Jerry G & Anderson, Richard G, 1986. "Replication in Empirical Economics: The Journal of Money, Credit and Banking Project," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(4), pages 587-603, September.
    9. B. D. McCullough & H. D. Vinod, 2003. "Verifying the Solution from a Nonlinear Solver: A Case Study," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(3), pages 873-892, June.
    10. KimMarie McGoldrick, 2008. "Writing Requirements and Economic Research Opportunities in the Undergraduate Curriculum: Results from a Survey of Departmental Practices," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(3), pages 287-296, July.
    11. John J. Siegfried & William B. Walstad, 2014. "Undergraduate Coursework in Economics: A Survey Perspective," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(2), pages 147-158, June.
    12. Gail M. Hoyt & KimMarie McGoldrick, 2019. "50 years of economic instruction in the Journal of Economic Education," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(2), pages 168-195, April.
    13. Guglielmo Volpe, 2015. "Case teaching in economics: History, practice and evidence," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(1), pages 1120977-112, December.
    14. Amanda Bayer & Cecilia Elena Rouse, 2016. "Diversity in the Economics Profession: A New Attack on an Old Problem," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 30(4), pages 221-242, Fall.
    15. Scott W. Allard & Jeffrey D. Straussman, 2003. "Managing intensive student consulting capstone projects: The Maxwell school experience," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(4), pages 689-701.
    16. Richard Ball & Norm Medeiros, 2012. "Teaching Integrity in Empirical Research: A Protocol for Documenting Data Management and Analysis," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(2), pages 182-189, April.
    17. Scott P. Simkins & Mark H. Maier & Phil Ruder, 2021. "Team-based learning (TBL): Putting learning sciences research to work in the economics classroom," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(3), pages 231-240, May.
    18. Dean Croushore, 2015. "Teaching an Economics Capstone Course Based on Current Issues in Monetary Policy," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 41(4), pages 504-512, September.
    19. Diego Méndez-Carbajo, 2015. "Visualizing Data and the Online FRED Database," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(4), pages 420-429, October.
    20. Priscilla Cooke St. Clair & Lynn Hunnicutt & Karen Travis, 2020. "Assessing the impact of research capstone preparation in the economics curriculum," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(3-4), pages 257-270, September.
    21. Brooke Conaway & Christopher Clark & J. J. Arias & Jessie Folk, 2018. "Integrating econometrics: A modern undergraduate economics capstone experience," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(3), pages 260-270, July.
    22. Aidan R. Vining & David L. Weimer, 2002. "Introducing policy analysis craft: The sheltered workshop," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(4), pages 697-707.
    23. Emily C. Marshall & Anthony Underwood, 2019. "Writing in the discipline and reproducible methods: A process-oriented approach to teaching empirical undergraduate economics research," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(1), pages 17-32, January.
    24. Steven Batt & Tara Grealis & Oskar Harmon & Paul Tomolonis, 2020. "Learning Tableau: A data visualization tool," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(3-4), pages 317-328, August.
    25. Gail M. Hoyt & KimMarie McGoldrick, 2017. "Models of undergraduate research in economics: Advice from eight exemplary programs," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(4), pages 288-289, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Andre R. Neveu & Angela M. Smith, 2023. "Engaging Students, Faculty, and External Professionals with a Data-Centered Group Capstone Project," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 49(3), pages 408-432, June.
    2. Li, Ishuan & Simonson, Robert D., 2016. "The value of a redesigned program and capstone course in economics," International Review of Economics Education, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 48-58.
    3. Depro, Brooks, 2022. "Making introductory economics more relevant: Using personalized connections to introduce environmental economics," International Review of Economics Education, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    4. Sarah F. Small, 2023. "Infusing Diversity in a History of Economic Thought Course: An Archival Study of Syllabi and Resources for Redesign," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 49(3), pages 276-311, June.
    5. Ishuan Li & Robert Simonson, 2016. "Capstone senior research course in economics," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(2), pages 161-167, April.
    6. McCullough, B. D., 2018. "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Despite evidence to the contrary, the American Economic Review concluded that all was well with its archive," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 12, pages 1-13.
    7. Amanda Bayer & Gregory Bruich & Raj Chetty & Andrew Housiaux, 2020. "Expanding and diversifying the pool of undergraduates who study economics: Insights from a new introductory course at Harvard," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(3-4), pages 364-379, September.
    8. Cynthia Harter & Diego Mendez-Carbajo, 2024. "Diving into the Gap: Recognizing Gender Differences in an Online Learning Activity," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 50(1), pages 79-102, January.
    9. Allan Drazen & Anna Dreber & Erkut Y. Ozbay & Erik Snowberg, 2019. "A Journal-Based Replication of "Being Chosen to Lead"," CESifo Working Paper Series 7942, CESifo.
    10. Kewei Hou & Chen Xue & Lu Zhang, 2017. "Replicating Anomalies," NBER Working Papers 23394, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Cladera, Magdalena, 2021. "Assessing the attitudes of economics students towards econometrics," International Review of Economics Education, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    12. Todd Pugatch & Elizabeth Schroeder, 2024. "A simple nudge increases socioeconomic diversity in undergraduate Economics," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 62(1), pages 287-307, January.
    13. Morreale, Joseph C. & Shostya, Anna, 2020. "Creating a transformative learning experience through a capstone course in economics," International Review of Economics Education, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    14. Gail M. Hoyt & KimMarie McGoldrick, 2017. "Promoting Undergraduate Research in Economics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(5), pages 655-659, May.
    15. Mueller-Langer, Frank & Andreoli-Versbach, Patrick, 2018. "Open access to research data: Strategic delay and the ambiguous welfare effects of mandatory data disclosure," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 20-34.
    16. Nick Huntington‐Klein & Andreu Arenas & Emily Beam & Marco Bertoni & Jeffrey R. Bloem & Pralhad Burli & Naibin Chen & Paul Grieco & Godwin Ekpe & Todd Pugatch & Martin Saavedra & Yaniv Stopnitzky, 2021. "The influence of hidden researcher decisions in applied microeconomics," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 59(3), pages 944-960, July.
    17. Robert A. Moffitt, 2011. "Report of the Editor: American Economic Review (with Appendix by Philip J. Glandon)," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(3), pages 684-693, May.
    18. Doucouliagos, Hristos & Paldam, Martin & Stanley, T.D., 2018. "Skating on thin evidence: Implications for public policy," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 16-25.
    19. Andreoli-Versbach, Patrick & Mueller-Langer, Frank, 2014. "Open access to data: An ideal professed but not practised," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(9), pages 1621-1633.
    20. Sara Gundersen & Allison Shwachman Kaminaga, 2022. "Presentations To The President: A Role-Play Assignment For A Macroeconomics Principles Class," Journal of Economics Teaching, Journal of Economics Teaching, vol. 7(3), pages 185-199, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Undergraduate research; Case method; Capstone; Teaching economics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A22 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - Undergraduate
    • M21 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Economics - - - Business Economics
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ireced:v:41:y:2022:i:c:s1477388022000160. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-review-of-economics-education .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.