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The Making of a MaterThesisFinance Subjects

Professor Mingshen Chen

Department of Finance

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Objectives of thesisresearch

The primary value of a thesis is that instead of studying by way of a series of minor and highly-specified topics, the student is obligated to examinea sizeable topic for a much longer period of time and

to learn to clearly define both the very question andthe research findings.By the time a thesis is completed the student canoften claim to have mastered some aspect of knowledge and is much more aware of theprocesses of research.

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What you will learn from athesis research

Formulating a research question.Making critical use of published work.Selecting and using appropriate researchmethods.Organizing and presenting material in a clear,logical, convincing way.

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The role of the

supervisors

Your supervisors are there to offer guidanceon methodological and theoretical issues aswell as to provide encouragement andsupport.

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Presenting your researchproposalThe proposal outlines your research objectivesand methods employed, which serves as basis of discussions between you and advisors

Proposal can help you clearly understand theproblem, literature, methodology, and possibleobstacles in your research before it is conducted.

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The structure of a finance

thesisThe motivation of the researchLiterature reviewsHypothesesMethodology and dataEmpirical results

Concluding Remarks

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The motivation of theresearchChoosing a researchtopic

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Characteristics of a GoodThesis Topic

Need for researchAmenable to research methodsAchievable in a reasonable timeMatch with students capabilities andinterestsArea for professional developmentContribution of knowledge

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"It is really important to do theright research as well as to dothe research right. You need todo 'wow' research, researchthat is compelling, not justinteresting."

George Springer ,chairman of the aeronautics and astronauticsdepartment at Stanford University

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Some Popular Topics inFinance

Corporate GovernanceBehavior FinanceMerger and Acquisition Activities

Emerging markets financial liberalizationand financial developmentPrivate Equity and Venture Capital

Credit Risk and Securitization

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Literature Reviews

A literature review surveys scholarlyarticles, books and other sources (e.g.dissertations, conference proceedings)relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, providing a description,summary, and critical evaluation of eachwork. The purpose is to offer an overview of

significant literature published on a topic.

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Literature reviews shouldcomprise the followingelements:An overview of the subject, issue or theory under

consideration.Division of works under review into categories (e.g.those in support of a particular position, those against,and those offering alternative theses entirely)Explanation of how each work is similar to and how itvaries from the othersConclusions as to which pieces are best considered intheir argument, are most convincing of their opinions,and make the greatest contribution to theunderstanding and development of their area of research

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How may you find relevantfinancial literature?

How to Search Journal PapersGo to NTU Library website: www.lib.ntu.edu.tw Click E-JournalsType Journal Title & Click Keyword SearchFind Out One of the Useful Links & Click theJournal Title to Login DATABASE

Full TextAbstract Only

Only the IP of 140.112.xxx.xxx can be Used

http://www.lib.ntu.edu.tw/http://www.lib.ntu.edu.tw/

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How may you find relevantfinancial literature?

ABI/INFORM Archive Complete [ProQuest]Banking Information Source [ProQuest]

Business Source Premier : EBSCO Host(Chinese and English)Springer Online Journal Archives -Business/Economics titles [SpringerLINK]Ph.D. Dissertations and Master thesesDatabase

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The methodology anddata

Cross-sectional research:Time-series research:Panel data research:

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Finance & EconomicsDATABASE

Financial & Economic TransactionsCompany Financials & OwnershipBusiness & Corporate Finance EventOthers

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Finance & EconomicsDATABASEFinancial & Economic Transaction stockand derivatives prices, volatility, and returns;

AREMOSDATASTREAMCenter Research for Security Price (CRSP)Option Metrics (Ivy DB)Markit Global Credit Default SWAPNYSE TAQTEJ Intraday DATATSE Intraday DATA

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Finance & EconomicsDATABASE

Business & Corporate Finance EventsSecurity Database Company (SDC)

Mergers & AcquisitionsNew IssueVentureXpert

Factiva - Dow & Reuters News

Others Taiwan Economic Journal (TEJ or )Free Access Data Sets

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The Format of a Thesis Asked by the Ministry of Education

1 Preliminaries2 Text

3 Reference Materials

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Preliminaries

Cover Title PageSignature or Approval Page

Dedication PageAcknowledgementsTable of ContentsChinese AbstractEnglish Abstract

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TextWriting style: Publication Manual of the AmericanPsychological Association a.k.a. APA Style Manualplease also refer to the Bibliography on Thesis Writingafter next page .Page number for the first page of each chapter placed onbottom center; the rest pages on top right corner. You canuse footnotes or endnotes for each chapter.Times/ Times Roman (12 characters to an inch) or Pica(10 characters to an inch). 23-26 lines per page. (Doublespaced)

One inch top margin, one inch bottom margin, one inchright margin, and one and half inches left margin.One face printing with Laser printer or Daisy WheelPrinter. No Dot matrix Printer.

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Reference Materials

AppendixGlossaryWorks Cited

Biographical Sketch (optional)

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Bibliography on ThesisWriting :Lester, James D., and James D. Lester, Jr. Writing Research Papers: A Complete Guide. New York:Pearson Longman, 2005.Becker, Howard S. Tricks of the Trade: How to Think about Your Research While Youre Doing It. Chicago:The University of Chicago Press, 1998.Mauch, James E., and Jack W. Birch. Guide to theSuccessful Thesis and Dissertation: Conception toPublication: A Handbook for Students and Faculty.

New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc, 1983.Berry, Richard. The Research Project: How to Write it. 3rd ed. London and New York: Routledge, 1994.

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Bibliography on ThesisWriting :Luey, Beth. Handbook for Academic Authors. 3rd ed.Cambridge and New York: Cambridge UniversityPress, 1995.Davis and Parker. Writing the Doctoral Dissertation: ASystematic Approach. Woodbury, N.Y.: BarronsEducational Series, 1979.Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Term Paper,Theses, and Dissertation. Chicago University of Chicago Press, 1987.Ruth, Audrey, J. The research paper: process, form,and content. Belmont, CA : Wadsworth Pub. Co., 1999.