MASTER THESIS BEHAVIOURAL ECONOMICS

Thesis Guideline 2016-2017

BEHAVIOURAL ECONOMICS Department of Applied Economics

Erasmus School of Economics Erasmus University Rotterdam

SECRETARIAT: Room: Tinbergen H12-01 Telephone: +31 (0) 10 408 27 76

COORDINATOR MASTER THESES: Dr. Chen Li Consulting Hour: by appointment Room: Tinbergen H12-29 Telephone: +31 (0)10 408 95 17 E-mail: behec-thesis@ese.eur.nl

Introduction The thesis is an individual assignment about a subject from your Master’s specialisation, in which, by means of an objective and a clear main question, you report about your research. This manual contains all necessary information concerning the content and the process of writing a thesis. It consists of two parts:

- A general part in which you can find School regulations and procedures concerning theses. - A specific part in which you can find additional information about writing a thesis at

behavioural economics.

General information Erasmus School of Economics

A. Requirements Study progress The thesis is generally written at the end of the master’s programme. It is advised to finish all previous courses before starting to write your thesis.

Language In the master's programmes Accounting, Auditing and Control, Economics and Business, and Econometrics and Management Science the thesis must be written in the English language. Only in case of ponderous arguments programme management can, in deliberation with the thesis supervisor, very exceptionally allow to write the thesis in Dutch.

Graduating for two specialisations Students who want to graduate for two specialisations can make a choice out of two options regarding their theses: - Students can write two separate theses. This means two different subjects, two different supervisors and two different defences / graduation ceremonies. Each thesis should be worth 16 credits. - Students can write one thesis for both specialisations. The subject is combined; the thesis is written for 32 credits. The student has two first supervisors who both have to agree on the final thesis. The defence / graduation ceremony is combined, but takes longer than a ceremony of a 16 credit thesis. At the defence both first supervisors are present and two second assessors.

Copyright and confidentiality No agreements concerning confidentiality will be issued or signed by thesis coordinators. When necessary, students can refer to article 1.16 of the Collective labour agreement of universities. Here it states that an employee is obliged to keep all information derived from his position confidential. This obligation also applies following termination of the employment contract.

B. Writing a thesis Time line 12 credits are allocated to the writing of a master thesis. This translates into 16 x 28 = 448 hours, around 3 months of fulltime work. A student needs to complete the master thesis within one year after a thesis supervisor has been assigned to the student. Should the time limit be exceeded, the thesis coordinator decides about possible continuation, based on the shown progression. Front page The front page should at least contain the following information:

Thesis workflow For guidance the supervisors use the Thesis Workflow, the digital thesis guidance and assessment system in SIN-Online. Through the thesis website, which you can find via the homepage for master students at www.ese.eur.nl, you will find direct web links to the thesis workflow of the different specialisations. The Thesis Workflow can be used for the following:

Registrations of theses

Registration of agreements and interim versions (e-mails and attachments), possibly including milestones reached and confirmed deadlines.

Handing in of thesis

Registration of scan on plagiarism

Assessment of the thesis and the associated process.

Additional information per specialisation Additional information about specific rules and regulations for your specialisation can be found in the second part of this manual.

ERASMUS UNIVERSITY ROTTERDAM

Erasmus School of Economics

Master Thesis [programme xxx]

Title thesis

Name student: xxx

Student ID number: xxx

Supervisor: xxx

Second assessor: xxx

Date final version: xxx

C. Handing in the thesis

Plagiarism The final version of the thesis will be checked for plagiarism. Plagiarism is quoting or paraphrasing phrases and ideas of others and presenting it as your own work. An example of plagiarism is copying a text from the internet into your assignment or thesis without providing a clear reference to the source of this text. Plagiarism is considered to be a serious crime. It is fraud, even though you may not have done it intentionally. If your thesis supervisor finds out that you have committed plagiarism, you will be reported to the ESE Examination Board. The sanction depends on how serious the committed fraud is. More information: http://www.eur.nl/english/eur/publications/cheating_and_plagiarism/ Publication

Your authorisation is required to publish (parts of) your thesis. All approved ESE theses are entered in RePub, the digital thesis repository of the Erasmus University. You can determine whether your thesis will be publicly available by choosing either ‘public’ or ‘private’ in the thesis workflow. You can consult the database via the website of the University Library or directly via: http://thesis.eur.nl/.

Establishment of the grade The master’s thesis will be assessed by the thesis supervisor as well as a second assessor. Both are academic staff members. A satisfactory result (grade 5.5 or up) must be obtained for the master's thesis. The result will be published on the grade list.

Assessment criteria for the thesis If the thesis supervisor judges the master's thesis to be of a satisfactory level, the thesis will be assessed by the thesis supervisor and a second assessor and the thesis defence will be scheduled. Thereafter, the thesis supervisor and the second assessor formally establish the grade for the master's thesis. The thesis will be assessed based on the following criteria: Objective and main question

The subject matter is clearly defined.

There is a clearly formulated main question.

The main question is based on relevant academic concepts and theories, and legitimised by up-to-date academic or social developments.

The main question leads to relevant hypotheses in a systematic and valid way. Methodology NB: This can apply to data collection and analysis, as well as to literature research

The research method is clearly justified, described and repeatable.

The research structure is suitable to the main question.

Relevant and up-to-date qualitative and/or quantitative research methods are employed.

A relevant method was chosen for the collection and (if applicable) processing of data.

The data collected are adequately and correctly presented.

Analysis

The analysis and interpretation of the data are accurate, reliable, comprehensive and verifiable.

The analysis and interpretation of the data are of sufficient profundity. Profoundness of the research

The research is profound (complexity, depth and scope of the research). Structure and design

There is a logical and relevant structure, consisting of the following: title page, table of contents, summary (max. 1 page), main question, results, discussion, conclusion and references.

There is a consistent and clear chapter structure that is relevant to the main question.

The chapters and sections are provided with suitable titles.

References comply with the applicable academic standards.

Literature references are complete, consistent and correct. Internal consistency

There is a coherent, logical and convincing argument.

The argument leads to theoretically embedded conclusions/partial conclusions that are relevant to the main question.

Use of language

The language used is correct and clear. Conclusions and recommendations

Conclusions are formulated which sufficiently take into account presuppositions, basic principles and the limitations/opportunities of the selected methodology.

The conclusions are formulated into realistic recommendations using creativity and with consideration of social and academic standards and values.

The main question is answered.

The hypotheses are accepted or rejected. Relevance, added value and originality

The thesis makes a relevant contribution to the practical knowledge within the field of study.

Individual vision, originality and creativity are clearly displayed. Process

Work rate

Independence

Attitude and dedication. Defence

Form of the presentation

Content of the presentation

Answering questions.

Additional information MSc. Economics and Business Specialization: Behavioural Economics

I. How it Works: the time line

1. Think about a topic

2. Option A: choose from topic list Compulsory: A list of 3 topics. Optional: Short research plan for 1 topic.

2. Option B: own topic Compulsory: Research proposal with a concrete research plan.

3. Topic Submission

Deadline 1: 27-Jan-2017 Deadline 2: 10-Mar-2017

4. Supervisor-Student Matching

Announcement 1: before 10-Feb-2017 Announcement 2: before 24-Mar-2017

5. Contact Supervisor

6. First Meeting with Supervisor

If successful

If not

7. Work on Thesis

8. Progress Workshop 9-May-2017

9. First Draft Early July

10. Hand in thesis and book a date July or Aug

11. Defense Aug or Sep

1. Think about a topic.

There must have been something that you are interested in, passionate about, or obsessed

with, bringing you to the master specialization in Behavioral Economics. Writing your master

thesis is your opportunity to re-discover your initial passion, identify the questions you are

curious about, use what you have learnt during the master program, and go one step further

towards the truth you have been searching for.

The list of master thesis topics can be a good place to start with. These topics are research

interests of supervisors, which give you an idea of feasible and interesting directions to go.

Read the descriptions carefully, and see if you can find a match of interest. If you would like

to pursue your own interest, the descriptions of the proposed topics can also help you have

a better idea of how to pin down your general interest into a feasible research plan.

It is also important to think about the type of thesis you would like to write. The main part of

a thesis is often of one of the following three types:

1) Theoretical: formulation of a new theory or model;

2) Empirical: analysis of an existing (field) data set;

3) Experimental: collection and analysis of experimental data.

You may have a purely theoretical, empirical, or experimental thesis. Although it is not

uncommon for a thesis to have more than one type of element, for instance, an

experimental study testing your own theory, we encourage you to focus your innovative

contribution on only one part of your thesis.

One recommended strategy to proceed with an empirical or experimental thesis is to

replicate an existing study, and add some innovation of your own to it. You can start by

picking a published paper you like. Read it carefully and make sure that you understand

every detail of the design, methodology and analysis. Repeat the study on a different (or if

possible the same) sample. Be critical about the limitations of the paper, and add your own

innovation to overcome the limitations by, for instance, adding one treatment to the existing

design, or controlling for one more (demographic) variable.

2. Choose a topic

After reading the list of topics and thinking carefully about your research interest, you have

the following two options.

Option A: Choose a topic from the topic list [link].

Option B: Propose your own topic.

If you choose option A, you need to list 3 topics that interest you the most. You are also

encouraged (it is not compulsory) to write a short research plan (400-500 words), discussing

the main research question you would like to investigate within the topic, a rough idea of

the methodology you would like to use, and if possible, a plan of when you are going to work

on each part of the thesis.

If you choose option B, you need to write a full research proposal for your own topic (it is

compulsory), containing a brief introduction with motivation for your proposed topic,

research question(s) and how the questions relate to previous findings in the literature,

hypotheses (if applicable), brief description of the method, and a plan of when you are going

to work on each part of the thesis.

3. Topic Submission

Once you have your list of topics or your research proposal ready, please submit them on

the thesis topic submission webpage. The first submission deadline is in January. Since

writing a master thesis is a long term commitment, we encourage you to take your time,

think carefully and choose a topic which is both feasible and interesting. If you need more

time to make a decision, you can then submit before the second deadline in March.

To give all students an equal chance of being matched according to their interests, the

matching process will only happen after each submission deadline. This means, you will not

hear from the coordinator about your matching in the meanwhile.

To avoid giving supervisors extra work load, please do not contact any of the supervisors

before you are matched with one by the thesis coordinator.

4. Initial Supervisor-Student Matching

The announcement of initial matching will be made within 2 weeks of each submission

deadline. You will then learn about who your supervisor will be and which topic you are

going to work on.

5. Contact Supervisor

After the announcement of the matching, you can contact your supervisor. Before you

schedule a first meeting, your supervisor may ask you to prepare several things, such as

writing a concrete research proposal (if you chose option A) or revising your research

proposal (if you chose option B), reading several selected papers, etc. This will be the first

impression your supervisor has about you, so try to present the best of yourself.

6. First Meeting with Supervisor

After you finish the tasks your supervisor assigned to you, you may schedule a first meeting.

During the first meeting, except for talking about the research topic, you will also discuss

about your preferred ways of communication, frequency of reports and feedback, structure

of timeline and deadlines and what your supervisor expects from you.

If both of you agree that it is a good match, you can sign the supervision form and register at

the secretariat of Applied Economics. If not (which rarely happens), you can contact the

thesis coordinator and explain the situation.

7. Work on Thesis

After your first meeting, you can start working on your thesis at the agreed pace under the

supervision of your supervisor. Try to be organized and well prepared before each meeting

with your supervisor.

If you are going to discuss with your supervisor about the recent progress you have made,

such as your experimental design, theoretical framework, or data analysis, it is always

helpful to prepare written summary of the output of your recent work. When preparing the

summaries, keep in mind that you would like to write them in a formal manner so that they

can later become parts of your thesis.

Whatever you send to your supervisor, always try to send in the best you are able to do.

Your supervisor will adapt the feedback to what you send:

When you send something with basic problems, you could have solved yourself (if

you had spent more time on it), your supervisor will correct on that level.

Make sure that you correct yourself what you are able to, then your supervisor can

discuss the more advanced things with you and can give you higher level feedback.

Send the documents to your supervisor at least 2 days before your meeting so that they can

have enough time to prepare for your meeting accordingly. The more prepared you are, the

more efficient the meetings will be, and the more valuable feedback you will get from your

supervisor.

According to the university policy, the expected time spent on thesis supervision is 30 hours

per thesis. The table below shows you a typical breakdown of the allocation of these hours.

Table: Breakdown of thesis supervision time allocation

Activity # of hours

Emails 7h Preparation for meetings 7h

Meetings 7h Admin coordination 1h Reading final draft 2 ×3h

Defense 2 ×1h Total 30h

The time allocation among emailing, preparation and actual meetings may vary from

supervisor to supervisor, but the overall pattern is similar to what is presented in the table.

If you work rather independently and takes less supervision time than expected, it will also

be taken into account as a positive sign in the final grade you get.

8. Progress Workshop

In the first weeks of block 5 (exact date to be announced), there will be a thesis workshop.

You will act as a researcher at a conference, and present your research project to the

audience. Depending on your progress, you can present your topic, research question,

related literature, method/approach, plan, etc.

The thesis workshop is an opportunity to get feedback on your research from fellow

students and other supervisors.

9. First Draft

You are expected to have a first complete draft by early July. You will then receive feedback

from your supervisor and have the possibility to revise your thesis accordingly. When your

supervisor and you agree on a final version, you can then hand it in.

10. Hand in thesis and book a date

If you would like to finish within this academic year, you should hand in your thesis before

the end of August. Otherwise, you need to pay for (part of) the tuition fee for the next year.

Your thesis should also be ready at least 5 weeks before your desired date of defense so that

you can register at least 4 weeks before.

A list of available defense dates can be found here.

The thesis submission procedure is handled through the SIN-Online thesis workflow system.

Here is a description of how it works.

11. Defense

This is when your hard work pays off. You defend your thesis in front of your thesis

committee, your family and friends. You show them why and how you try to answer an

interesting question. It is the time when you share your knowledge and pursuit of truth with

people you care the most about.

The thesis defense takes about 1 hour. It starts with you giving a 10-15 min presentation.

After that it is 20-30 min question time when members of your committee (your supervisor

and your second reader) ask you general or detailed questions about the content of your

thesis and your presentation. The committee will then decide on a grade, and give you your

diploma.

Appendix A: How to write a research proposal?

What is a research proposal?

A research proposal is an outline of your proposed research project. It should have:

1) a clear research question and a description of an approach to answering the

question;

2) highlights of the novelty and/or importance of the proposed research project;

3) explanations of how it contributes to the related literature.

What does a research proposal look like?

Typical length:

o 2-3 pages, no more than 5 pages.

Typical structure:

o Title

o Introduction

In this section, you provide an introduction to your research topic with an explanation of the aim, based on theory and/or previous empirical results. Discuss why it is important/socially relevant to study this topic. Cite related references (research papers or books) to motivate your research topic.

o Research question In this section, you discuss the research question you would like to address, define the main concepts you use. You may also include the hypotheses to be tested which can be deduced from existing (or own) theories, observations and/or your own reasoning.

o Methodology In this section, you explain the main approaches you will take (theoretical, empirical or/and experimental) to address your research question and/or test your hypotheses. It can be a description of a dataset and a plan of econometric analysis, an experimental design with a plan of analysis of the experimental data, etc.

o Research plan and Timeline In this section, you provide a biweekly/monthly outline of how you will proceed working on the thesis within the time scheduled.

o Reference list List all the papers (complete references) that you mention in the research

proposal.

Managing your citation and references using Microsoft word.