A key objective of the classes is to practice generating and developing research ideas. This part of the research process is often not very clear – experienced researchers publish their clever identification strategies and rigorous robustness checks in articles but typically don’t mention the ideas for research projects that didn’t work out. A couple of recent exceptions can be seen here and here - do check these out . There are some useful tips on the internet and you should read a couple of these if you haven't already:
Presentations by Amy Finkelstein on how to do empirical research - Part 1 and Part 2 - you should certainly look at these if you haven't already
Advice by Paul Niehaus on how to go about doing a PhD (I think this is very helpful!)
Advice by Don Davis (Columbia) on starting a thesis
Advice from Steve Pischke – two first pages are most relevant
Advice from Darren Lubotsky – first page is most relevant (page 1)
Article on choosing a PhD topic
Frank Schilbach on his research production functions
Some slides about doing a PhD from Nick Hagerty
(Links on other aspects of PhD life are at the bottom of the page)
Also, if you like podcasts, I'd recommend this one on the "backstory" behind how papers get developed - very interesting to hear about the stuff that doesn't get presented!
An important insight that these links should give you is that writing a good job market paper doesn't consist of having an idea and then developing that idea into a paper - it should be more like having ten ideas, and then developing some of them further, and then eventually developing the best into the job market paper.
It makes sense to work on a research question you have a comparative advantage in. Most often, the advantage will be that you have more interest in the topic than most people, and hence are prepared to think about it harder and explore the question deeper. Other times, it will be access to data, knowledge of a context or insights you have garnered before or during your PhD. Given this, it may seem odd that I am asking you to come up with research proposals on topics that I, not you, have chosen. Mainly, I think this doesn't matter - we are practising a technique, and in any case it is a good way of better understanding a topic. But I also want you to keep an open mind - you are at the beginning of the PhD, and at this point there is plenty of time to investigate new ideas...
Also, here are some useful resources for fieldwork that the development group has put together:
- A list of potential funding sources
- A list of who's worked in which countries (since we recommend you speak to someone who's worked in a country before you go there, if possible)
- A document with tips and information put together by PSE PhD students
The format of my classes in the D1 Development course will be as follows:
· Before the Monday session: I’m going to give you a set of papers and questions on three papers. You need to send me your responses to these questions in time for me to read them before the Monday class - the exact time varies and is given below. Given that I am asking you to look at several papers, I don't expect you to have read all the parts of the paper in detail, but I suggest you try to read enough of the paper so that you feel you understand what it's doing - the class will be a good opportunity to discuss any questions you have on the paper. Indeed, many of the papers I'm setting are quite complicated, so you should use the last question on the question sheet to ask for help understanding.
· Monday session: As in previous weeks, I will present a few slides framing the literature and we'll discuss the papers we’ve read. I’ll try to use the responses you’ve sent me in focusing the discussion, hence the importance of respecting the deadline.
· Before the Thursday session: You will prepare two research proposals to discuss on the Thursday session. You are strongly encouraged, but not compelled, to present ideas related to the topic we are covering that week. Since I'm teaching last, however, I'll also let you present ideas that you haven't had a chance to talk about in earlier sessions. Please see below for what I would like in a research proposal.
· Thursday session: We will discuss the research proposals you’ve come up with and any remaining questions you have on the literature.
For each week, rather than giving a reading list, I will provide a zip file which contains papers that I will mention briefly in the slides on Thursday. I certainly don't expect you to read all the papers in this folder - instead, for the Monday session, you should concentrate on the papers on which I have set questions. Note that generally I don't include papers that are cited in the survey papers, so this collection isn't a set of the best papers but rather mainly a set of very new papers. They are there to sit alongside the slides on Monday giving you a sense of what's going on in the field and provide you with references if you are interested in digging deeper on a particular topic. You may want to use the other papers in helping to think about research proposals for the Thursday session, though this isn't necessary.
What am I looking for in a research proposal?
You do not need to send me your research proposals or prepare slides for them. Instead, you will present them to the group in the Thursday session. You should aim to present the following elements:
Most importantly, a question that's interesting, unanswered and could feasibly be answered. I'm not expecting you to scan every paper that's ever been written on the topic, and indeed many projects fail because at some point one finds a working paper that's a year (or five) ahead of you. But the idea of the reading and the Thursday session is that you should have a sense as to where the literature is (or at least it should help you find out relatively quickly), so that you can relate your idea to the literature in a broad sense.
You should also present briefly why the question is interesting/important. One exercise I find helpful here is to think about how people should update their beliefs depending on the answer - i.e. if we find the answer is A, then this is interesting because... , but if we find the answer is B, then this is interesting because...
Next, I would like some thoughts about how we could go about answering the question. In particular, what would we need in terms of data and identification strategy? The aim here is to come up with something that's at least theoretically feasible even if it might not be practically so.
Finally, you should spend some time thinking about what is the biggest problem with this idea. This should lead you to think about what the first steps you would need to undertake to investigate the idea further, and how long you would expect this to take. This is an important factor in deciding whether or not to pursue the idea. Please note I'm not asking you to make a list of five problems - the key is to practice identifying the most critical one.
Questions on papers to be completed and sent to me before 11am on 9/12/2024
Link to zipped folder with papers (these are the papers for the questions + the papers I mention on the slides - I don't expect you to read them all!)
Questions on papers to be completed and sent to me before 10am on 13/1/2025
Link to zipped folder with papers
Questions on papers to be completed and sent to me before 10am on 20/1/2025
Link to zipped folder with papers