Course ECON 3304 Techniques for Economic Research

Professor Dr. Kruti Dholakia

Term Spring 2011
Meetings Monday, 7:00-9:45 PM, GR 2.302

CONTACT INFORMATION
Main Phone 972-883-2926
Office Location GR 3.232
Email Address kruti@utdallas.edu; Prof.Kruti@gmail.com
Office Hours M-T-W 5:30-7:00 PM or by appointment
GENERAL COURSE INFORMATION
College level algebra course (MATH 1314 or equivalent).
Pre-requisites, Co- College level Statistics Course (STAT 1342 or SOCS 3405).
requisites, & other Using Microsoft Office 2010 or equivalent Document Editors is
restrictions recommended (You can get the Office 2010 from UTD Bookstore at a
very reasonable discounted price of $33.00).
This course functions as an introduction to the primary methods used in
economic research. Topics include information technology, computer
Course Description software, mathematics, and statistics for economists. This course is
designed to provide a foundation for all other upper-level economics
courses.
The course goals are:
 To improve student capability for undertaking economic analysis
with the use of elementary calculus, probability theory, statistics,
and empirical analysis of data
Learning Outcomes
 To introduce students to essential sources of economic
information
 To prepare students for higher level courses in Economics and
other social sciences dealing with statistical research.
Vijverberg, W.; Murdoch, J.; Hoch, I. Basic Techniques for Economic
Research, July 2005. Unpublished. (Manuscript available at both off-
campus and on-campus bookstores).
Required Texts &
An acceptable scientific calculator resembles the Casio fx260 or the
Materials
Texas Instruments TI-30Xa. ALWAYS BRING CALCULATOR WITH YOU TO
CLASS & EXAMS!! You will not be allowed to use any other forms such as
cellphones or laptops for calculating answers.
Suggested Texts, The textbooks you used for the MATH 1314 and STAT 1342/SOCS 3405
Readings, & will be helpful to re-visit.
Materials If you attend class regularly, the textbook and class-notes should suffice!

COURSE POLICIES

2 Exams 50 percent (25% each)

5 Homeworks 50 percent (10% each)
Grading (credit)
MIDTERM – Feb 28, 2011
Criteria
FINAL – May 9, 2011
GRADING: 90-100 = A; 80-89 = B; 70-79 = C; 0-69 F
 No make-up exams will be offered. If exam schedule is inconvenient to you,
I suggest that you take this course in another semester. If for any reason
Make-up Exams
you miss the exam, you will need to get approval from the Assistant Dean,
Dr. Maxwell, to be able to retake it.
NO EXTRA CREDIT is available, per se. However, discounts and credits may
Extra Credit
be assigned in class, which implies that attendance is highly recommended.
NOT ACCEPTABLE. Early submissions, on the other hand, are highly
Late Work
recommended!
Regular attendance is highly desirable. You are also responsible for all
announcements made in class, whether or not you attend. Thus, the best
policy is to attend every class. If you have to miss a class, due to illness or
Class Attendance other unavoidable conflict, try to borrow a fellow student’s notes and
inform me in advance. Looking at previous experiences with this and other
classes, tardiness and absence are the main contributing factors to poor
and failing grades.

CLASS SCHEDULE
Dates Chapters HW GIVEN
10-Jan 1, 2 HW1
17-Jan MLK Day Holiday
24-Jan 2, 3 1 due
31-Jan 4, 5
7-Feb 5, 6 HW2
14-Feb 6, 7 2 due
21-Feb 7, 8
28-Feb MIDTERM
7-Mar 9, 10 HW3
14-Mar Spring Break
21-Mar 10, 11 3 due
28-Mar 11, 12
4-Apr 12, 13 HW4
11-Apr 14, 15 4 due
18-Apr 16, 17
25-Apr 17, 18 HW5
2-May 19, 20 5 due
9-May FINAL

These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the Professor.
For those of you who wish to look at the ancillary syllabus material, please
visit: http://go.utdallas.edu/syllabus-policies.