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tm_guru · 2009 October 28th, 01:38 AM

Hey all,
I'm nearly done writing my statement of purpose after almost 3 months working on it

Basically, I have a list of research ideas as long as my arm that I've developed over the years, but they are all essentially empirical studies with little nod to formal theory... they are all the type of thing that use econometric analysis to deal with practical, real-world issues, and the results of the analysescould lead to policy-altering conclusions.

What's the protocol here? Should I mention these ideas at all? I mean there's loads of economists doing this type of work, but I think I myself have advised others not to mention a strong interest in empirical work... I am a firm believer that being honest is the only way I have ever got anything in my life, any time I've tried to be underhanded or 'sneaky' it's never worked out well. So I'd rather not lie about my goals, interests, or background in any way. But on the other hand, schools want to know what type of research you are interested in...

Are there others insimilar situations, or has anyone been successfully admitted with an interest in empirical work noted in their statement of purpose?

Bottom line, does admitting an interest in empirical work count against you in any way?

postgradecon · 2009 October 28th, 01:49 AM

Why don't you take some of these empirical project ideas and see what theory has to say about questions that are similar? You could find some papers/authors/areas that are relevant to these ideas and talk more generally about it.

Two general observations:
1) From what I have learned over the years, even empirical work generally comes out of some theoretical work (or should). We don't want to do data-mining but economics. That was an important point made by one of the professor in my master's degree.

2) I don't think that giving a specific research proposal in your statement of purpose is that important. It should be more general than "I want to research economics", but probably not as specific as "I will use data set X to answer question Y by running regression Z".

I didn't mention specific research projects, but mentionned one or two areas of research that interest me and gave examples as to why they are relevant. It seemed to have worked for me so far...

Gerter · 2009 October 28th, 01:58 AM

I've never understood the argument that you shouldn't mention an interest in empirical work. As long as you don't say "I want to do empirical work because I find theory too mathematically dense and complicated" it shouldn't be a disadvantage.

Regarding specific research proposals, I wouldn't mention any in too much detail. Rather just say my research interests are currently X and recently I've been thinking about Y and Z.

But that's just me. Hell do I know.

asquare · 2009 October 28th, 02:06 AM

I don't think mentioning empirical research ideas will work against you. I was admitted to many schools with a statement of purpose that talked about empirical, policy-relevant research, and I don't think my statement of purpose was what held me back at the schools that rejected me.

That said, it's important to make sure that your empirical ideas are of economic interest. Ideally, your parameters would be derived from economic models (a not at all new example is the return to education, which actually comes from a model where people optimize over education and employment).

You don't need to explain the model in your statement of purpose, but you do want to be clear that your research ideas are more than program evaluations or exploitations of incidental variation that isn't of any real interest. The combination of creativity with understanding of how economists think about the world will be attractive to admissions committees.

Remember that at its essence, economics is the study of the allocation of scarce resources between competing interests -- in other words, the study of decision making. If you can phrase your empirical questions as tests of decisions subject to some constraints, they should be well received by an admissions committee.

One more thing -- it's always a good strategy to present a few research ideas as examples of the type of research you are interested in, and that makes you want to pursue a PhD. But you don't want to make it seem like you are tying yourself to one idea.

tm_guru · 2009 October 28th, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asquare

I don't think mentioning empirical research ideas will work against you. I was admitted to many schools with a statement of purpose that talked about empirical, policy-relevant research, and I don't think my statement of purpose was what held me back at the schools that rejected me.

That said, it's important to make sure that your empirical ideas are of economic interest. Ideally, your parameters would be derived from economic models (a not at all new example is the return to education, which actually comes from a model where people optimize over education and employment).

You don't need to explain the model in your statement of purpose, but you do want to be clear that your research ideas are more than program evaluations or exploitations of incidental variation that isn't of any real interest. The combination of creativity with understanding of how economists think about the world will be attractive to admissions committees.

Remember that at its essence, economics is the study of the allocation of scarce resources between competing interests -- in other words, the study of decision making. If you can phrase your empirical questions as tests of decisions subject to some constraints, they should be well received by an admissions committee.

One more thing -- it's always a good strategy to present a few research ideas as examples of the type of research you are interested in, and that makes you want to pursue a PhD. But you don't want to make it seem like you are tying yourself to one idea.

Thanks asquare, I know we don't always see eye to eye so I appreciate the sound advice doubly.

Gecko · 2009 October 28th, 02:13 PM

You can always argue that your reduced from models can be derived from full structural models ^_^ with a bit of decent explanation~

JohnMcClane · 2009 October 29th, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tm_guru

Basically, I have a list of research ideas as long as my arm that I've developed over the years ... Should I mention these ideas at all?

I would refrain from mentioning personal research ideas in my statement of purpose. Here is what Susan Athey and Jeffrey Smith say about engaging in such a strategy.

Athey: Its not necessary to have a specific thesis proposal, and odds are if you try to pretend you have one when you really don't you'll come off as sounding naive which is a bad thing.

Smith: Do not fill it with sob stories about your hard life, with clever ideas for papers you want to write (though it is okay to talk about specific subjects that interest you in a general way), or with extravagant praise about the faculty at the school to which you are applying. Just explain why you want to be an economist and why you are applying to the school in question in an honest and reasonable way.

Gecko · 2009 October 29th, 11:50 AM

If I were to follow Smith's advice I don't think I will even get in: I want to be an economist as it has one of the best starting pay for academia, and the school places well ^_^

JohnMcClane · 2009 October 29th, 02:56 PM

Gecko ... I am sure you will do fine as long as your statement of purpose informs the adcom about the money they can be saving with geico.

tm_guru · 2009 October 29th, 03:46 PM

Yea, just tell them 15 minutes with your applicaiton and they could save themselves 15% of the hassle of admissions! :-)

2009 October 28th, 01:38 AM	#1 (permalink)
tm_guru TestMagic Guru-in-Training Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 635	SOP Issue Hey all, I'm nearly done writing my statement of purpose after almost 3 months working on it Basically, I have a list of research ideas as long as my arm that I've developed over the years, but they are all essentially empirical studies with little nod to formal theory... they are all the type of thing that use econometric analysis to deal with practical, real-world issues, and the results of the analysescould lead to policy-altering conclusions. What's the protocol here? Should I mention these ideas at all? I mean there's loads of economists doing this type of work, but I think I myself have advised others not to mention a strong interest in empirical work... I am a firm believer that being honest is the only way I have ever got anything in my life, any time I've tried to be underhanded or 'sneaky' it's never worked out well. So I'd rather not lie about my goals, interests, or background in any way. But on the other hand, schools want to know what type of research you are interested in... Are there others insimilar situations, or has anyone been successfully admitted with an interest in empirical work noted in their statement of purpose? Bottom line, does admitting an interest in empirical work count against you in any way?

2009 October 28th, 01:49 AM	#2 (permalink)
postgradecon Within my grasp! Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 155	Why don't you take some of these empirical project ideas and see what theory has to say about questions that are similar? You could find some papers/authors/areas that are relevant to these ideas and talk more generally about it. Two general observations: 1) From what I have learned over the years, even empirical work generally comes out of some theoretical work (or should). We don't want to do data-mining but economics. That was an important point made by one of the professor in my master's degree. 2) I don't think that giving a specific research proposal in your statement of purpose is that important. It should be more general than "I want to research economics", but probably not as specific as "I will use data set X to answer question Y by running regression Z". I didn't mention specific research projects, but mentionned one or two areas of research that interest me and gave examples as to why they are relevant. It seemed to have worked for me so far... _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ Attending UBC PhD 2009!

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2009 October 28th, 01:58 AM	#3 (permalink)
Gerter Within my grasp! Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 110	I've never understood the argument that you shouldn't mention an interest in empirical work. As long as you don't say "I want to do empirical work because I find theory too mathematically dense and complicated" it shouldn't be a disadvantage. Regarding specific research proposals, I wouldn't mention any in too much detail. Rather just say my research interests are currently X and recently I've been thinking about Y and Z. But that's just me. Hell do I know.

2009 October 28th, 02:06 AM	#4 (permalink)
asquare TestMagic Guru Moderator Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Ann Arbor Posts: 1,725	I don't think mentioning empirical research ideas will work against you. I was admitted to many schools with a statement of purpose that talked about empirical, policy-relevant research, and I don't think my statement of purpose was what held me back at the schools that rejected me. That said, it's important to make sure that your empirical ideas are of economic interest. Ideally, your parameters would be derived from economic models (a not at all new example is the return to education, which actually comes from a model where people optimize over education and employment). You don't need to explain the model in your statement of purpose, but you do want to be clear that your research ideas are more than program evaluations or exploitations of incidental variation that isn't of any real interest. The combination of creativity with understanding of how economists think about the world will be attractive to admissions committees. Remember that at its essence, economics is the study of the allocation of scarce resources between competing interests -- in other words, the study of decision making. If you can phrase your empirical questions as tests of decisions subject to some constraints, they should be well received by an admissions committee. One more thing -- it's always a good strategy to present a few research ideas as examples of the type of research you are interested in, and that makes you want to pursue a PhD. But you don't want to make it seem like you are tying yourself to one idea.

2009 October 28th, 02:13 PM	#6 (permalink)
Gecko This user's posts are moderated. Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 1,081	You can always argue that your reduced from models can be derived from full structural models ^_^ with a bit of decent explanation~

2009 October 29th, 11:50 AM	#8 (permalink)
Gecko This user's posts are moderated. Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 1,081	If I were to follow Smith's advice I don't think I will even get in: I want to be an economist as it has one of the best starting pay for academia, and the school places well ^_^

2009 October 29th, 02:56 PM	#9 (permalink)
JohnMcClane Eager! Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 41	Gecko ... I am sure you will do fine as long as your statement of purpose informs the adcom about the money they can be saving with geico.

2009 October 29th, 03:46 PM	#10 (permalink)
tm_guru TestMagic Guru-in-Training Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 635	Yea, just tell them 15 minutes with your applicaiton and they could save themselves 15% of the hassle of admissions! :-)

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