UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Marshall School of Business
BUAD 491 – Honors Seminar (Spring 2013) Syllabus
W2:00-3:50; HOH 301
Instructor: Assistant Professor David H. Erkens
Contact Information: Office is HOH817; (213) 740-9318;
Office Hours: Wednesday 4:00-5:00pm, and by appointment
Course Description
The goal of this course is for students to write a senior honors thesis that is based on their own original research. In the process of doing so, students will develop the following skills. First, students will obtain a basic understanding ofprogramming in SAS, which is a softwarepackage commonly used by both practitioners (e.g., economic consultants, financial analysts) and academics for analyzing archival data.Second, students will get an understanding of how to identify a novel research question, and, more importantly, an understanding of how to organize their thoughts into a coherent research paper. Finally, students will learn how to present their work to an audience that may not be familiar with the identified research topic.
While there also other empirical research methods that can be employed (e.g., surveys, interviews, field research), each having its own merits and drawbacks, we will focus in this course on the analysis of archival data using SAS for several reasons. First, it is impossible to discuss all empirical research methods in this course. Second, focusing on easily accessible archival data allows us to spend more time and effort on gaining an understanding of how to craft a research paper, as opposed to collecting data in the field. Third, having a basic understanding of SAS can significantly boost your chances of finding a job, not only in academia, but also in consulting, finance, and perhaps even public accounting, as SAS is used by a wide array of organizations.
This course is not a business field project, where a student solves a business problem for a client company. The research project must make a contribution to knowledge beyond what is already known. In other words, your project cannot involve merely the application of an already established theory or principle. Instead, your thesis must build upon existing academic research papers to provide novel insights into a problem that you identified. I encourage you to work together with one other student on your research project. Working together with someone on your research project will help you refine your ideas more quickly, make course deadlines, and will most likely lead to a more enjoyable experience. I suggest that you try to come up with a general idea of what you are interested in before you choose your research partner, but you are more than welcome to do so earlier. However, once you and your research partner have agreed to work together and have communicated this intention to me, I expect you to complete the final research project together.
Course Prerequisites and Recommended Preparation:
This course is open only to seniors who have been selected to participate in the Marshall Undergraduate Honors Program in Business Administration.
Required Materials
Bell, Judith, (2008), Doing Your Research Project, Open University Press, fourth edition.
Shaw, K.W., and M.H. Zhang. 2010. Is CEO Cash Compensation Punished for Poor Firm Performance? The Accounting Review 85 (3): 1065-1093.
Erkens, D. H. 2010. Do Firms Use Time-Vested Stock-Based Pay to Keep Research and Development Investments Secret? Journal of Accounting Research 49(4): 861-894.
Erkens, D.H., M. Hung, and P. Matos. 2012. Corporate Governance in the 2007-2008 financial crisis: Evidence from financial institutions worldwide. Journal of Corporate Finance 18: 389-411.
Erkens, D. H., and S. E. Bonner.The Role of Firm Status in Appointments of Accounting Financial Experts to Audit Committees.The Accounting Review, forthcoming.
Suggested Materials
Strunk, W, Jr., (2011), The Elements of Style, The Elements of Style Press, 11th edition.
Williams, J.M. (1995), Style: Toward Clarity and Grace, The University of Chicago Press.
Instructional Methods
The class will consist of lectures, discussions, written assignments, programming assignments, student presentations and individual tutorials on a research project.
Grading
The course gradeis based on class participation, two programming assignments, three short papers, class presentations,and the term paperaccording to the following weights:
Class Participation / 10%Programming Assignments (5% each) / 10%
Short Papers (10% each) / 30%
Class Presentations / 10%
Term Paper – The Thesis / 40%
Papers: All papers should be a Word document (double-spaced with one inch margins and in 12 point font) and should be emailed to me as an attachment by the due date. Every paper should have a title (the title of your project) and your name(s) should be centered under the title. Every page should be numbered and numbers should be consecutive (e.g., do not begin a new section with a new page number).
Please proofread your papers for grammatical and spelling errors. Papers should be written in a formal writing style. Bullet points are not appropriate for any of the papers (but bullet points are appropriate for Power Point presentations). Inserting headings and subheadings will help you organize your material and convey it more clearly. For information on how to write a research paper, please seethe style guidelines required by The Accounting Review ( books on style mentioned under the heading “Suggested Materials”.
Term paper – the senior honors thesis.Submit two copies of the term paper by 2:00PM on the date of the final exam. One copy must be emailed to me and must include a copy of the SAS code you wrote to compile and analyze the data. The thesis must meet the style guidelines of The Accounting Review.The thesis grade will be based on (a) the originality and creativity ofthe project, (b) the demonstration of knowledge of and interpretation of previous research, (c) the extent to which sound principles of logic and research are demonstrated, including ethical principles, (d) communication effectiveness (including grammar, organization of material and writing style) and (e) compliance with deadlines.
Thesis Presentation.Students will give an oral presentation of their research project on May 1st, using Power Point. The Power Point slides must be emailed to me by 8:00 AM on the day that the presentation is due. The first slide should state your title, your name and the date of the presentation. The last slide should be a summary of your main points in bullet point format.
Short Papers.Students will write three short papers about their project. You should email each of these papers to me by 8:00AM on the due date. Students are required to present these short papers on the day that they are due using Power Point slides.
The first paper describes the problem that you will investigate in at most two pages. You should not only clearly explain what your research question is, but also why your research question is of interest to academics and/or practitioners.
The second paperextends the first short paper byexplaining how you arrived at your research question and how it fits in prior literature. Because each short paper extends the previous short paper, your second short paper should start with a revised version of the first short paper. Particularly, after presenting the research question and explaining how the research question is of interest and contributes to the literature, your paper should develop one or more formal hypotheses that are based on prior literature. The length of your paper is limited to seven pages and must contain a reference list of the papers that you cite using the style guidelines of The Accounting Review.
The third paper extends the second short paper by explaining how you will execute the empirical analysis. Particularly, the third short paper should start with a revised version of the second short paper and should subsequently discuss how the hypotheses will be tested, including the data sources and the complete description of the empirical model that will be used. Thus, your third paper should resemble a full research paper excluding the discussion of the empirical findings. Also this paper must follow the style guidelines of The Accounting Review. There is no page limit for this paper. However, more is not necessarily better, and potentially worse. A full research paper is typically not more than 25 pages of text.
Class Participation.It is very important for each student to actively participate in the class discussions. Read the course materials before the class and make sure you are familiar with the main issues to be discussed in class. You should volunteer your insights but you also will be called upon to state your opinion, critique others’ ideas and reflect on assigned reading material. The participation credits include class attendance because you cannot participate unless you attend class.
Assignment Submission Policy
Assignments must be turned in on the due date/time electronically via email. I encourage you to turn in your assignment early! Any assignment turned in late, even if by only a few minutes, will receive a grade deduction (for example, if your work is a B+ grade, you will be given a C+ grade). If your internet breaks down on the due date, you must deliver a hard copy to my office by 9:00AM that day. If you are unable to attend class on that day and are unable to email it to me, make arrangements for it to be delivered to my office. Late or not, however, you must complete all required assignments to pass this course.
Add/Drop Process
If you are absent more than onceprior to Feb. 20, I may ask you to withdraw from the class. These policies maintain professionalism and ensure a system that is fair to all students. Particularly, it may be very difficult for you to provide meaningful input on your research project with respect to data analysis when you miss several classes.
Emergency Preparedness/Course Continuity
In case of a declared emergency if travel to campus is not feasible, USC executive leadership will announce an electronic way for instructors to teach students in their residence halls or homes using a combination of Blackboard, teleconferencing, and other technologies.
Please activate your course in Blackboard with access to the course syllabus. Whether or not you use Blackboard regularly, these preparations will be crucial in an emergency. USC's Blackboard learning management system and support information is available at blackboard.usc.edu.
Notice on Academic Integrity
The use of unauthorized material, attempting to benefit from the work of another student, and similar behavior that defeats the intent of class work is unacceptable to the University. It is often difficult to distinguish between a culpable act and inadvertent behavior. Where a clear violation has occurred, however, the instructor may disqualify the student's work as unacceptable and assign a failing mark on the paper. There may be additional penalties, including failing the course, in accordance to the university policies, as listed in the SCampus.
For Students with Disabilities
Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to your instructor as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.
Course Disclaimer
My intent is to help you complete a research project that you will find interesting, important and challenging. However, I may discourage you from undertaking a project that is not commensurate with your skills and the constraints of a one semester course. Modifications to this syllabus might be warranted as I assess the learning needs of this particular class of students.
Schedule
Date
/ Topic / Assignment1/16 / Introduction / Course overview and introduction to programming in SAS and commonly used databases
1/23 / Conducting research / Individual meetings
1/30 / Second introduction to SAS / Tutorial on SAS and WRDS website
2/6 / Analyzing data in SAS / First SAS programming homework due
- Replicate tables 1 and 2 from Shaw and Zhang (2010)
2/13 / Analyzing data in SAS (continued) / Second SAS programming homework due
- Replicate tables 3, 4, 5, and 6 from Shaw and Zhang
(2010)
- Read chapters 1, 2, 3, 7, and 12 from Bell (2008)
- Read sections on sample construction ofassigned
research papers
2/20 / Searching the literature and identifying a research topic / Homework
- Read chapters 4, 5, and 6
- Read hypothesis development sections of assigned
research papers
2/27 / Conducting research / Individual meetings
3/6 / Developing a problem statement / Homework
- First short paper due
- Prepare Power Point presentation of first short paper
- Read introductions of assigned research papers
3/13 / Conducting research / Individual meetings
3/20 / Spring break / No class
3/27 / The literature review and hypothesis development / Homework
- Second short paper due
- Prepare Power Point presentation of second short
paper
- Read chapter 13
- Read remainder of assigned research papers
4/3 / Conducting research / Individual meetings
4/10 / The empirical design / Homework
- Third short paper due
- Prepare Power Point presentation of third short paper
4/17 / Conducting research / Individual meetings
4/24 / Conducting research / Individual meetings
5/1 / Presenting the final report / Homework
- Prepare Power Point for final report
5/13 / Final exam / Term paper due
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