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

Bradley Hansen and Mary Hansen ()
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Mary Hansen: Department of Economics, American University

No 2005-12, Working Papers from American University, Department of Economics

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.

Keywords: teaching economics; research methods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A12 A20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 22 pages
Date: 2005-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hpe
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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https://doi.org/10.17606/A7VT-9P34 First version, 2005 (application/pdf)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:amu:wpaper:1205

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