Some objectives of this essay are as follows: 1. Set out the research hypothesis the essay together with the methodology to be adopted; 2. Choose an economical/financial (etc) data sets (like Datasteam, Thomson, BankScope etc) and show how this data can be used to carry out research in a subject area of your choice; 3. Familiarise yourself with dealing appropriately with data sets; 4. Apply the statistical knowledge gained from the Research Methods course; Essay Structure (possible) As a guide, the written report should be approximately 2,000 words. However, quality of content is more important than length. There is no set format for your assignment, as this will depend on the topic. However, a typical format might be: ? Abstract ? Table of Contents ? Introduction ? Theoretical concept ? Literature Review ? Methodology and Data ? Results and discussion ? Conclusions ? References ? Appendices: Other relevant material (eg. Example of a questionnaire used) There are four prerequisites for your assignment: 1. You must attach the data used in an Excel, Stata or text format (with appropriate name. It is best to use your name and surname) to the assignment either in the e-mail you will forward me with your assignment or in a floppy disk (no print out). 2. Full references must be provided and quoted clearly in the bibliography otherwise, zero mark will be given. 3. You must not use someone else data for your assignment. The whole exercise aims to give you the opportunity to deal with the data. 4. The student must submit the Plagiarism software on the Blackboard prior to submission of the hard copy.