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Academic staff member responsible for the design of the course syllabus
(name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature)
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NA
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Main Course Lecturer (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address
and signature) and Office Hours:
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Dr. Fatbardha Morina fmorina@epoka.edu.al
, Tuesday 16:30 - 18:00
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Second Course Lecturer(s) (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email
address and signature) and Office Hours:
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NA
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| Language: |
English
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| Compulsory/Elective: |
Compulsory
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| Study program: (the study for which this course is offered) |
Master of Science in Banking and Finance
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| Classroom and Meeting Time: |
E- 212/ Tuesday 16:30 - 18:00
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| Teaching Assistant(s) and Office Hours: |
NA
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| Code of Ethics: |
Code of Ethics of EPOKA University
Regulation of EPOKA University "On Student Discipline"
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| Attendance Requirement: |
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| Course Description: |
This course is aimed at giving the student the opportunity to independently and under a professor’s supervision to conduct and finalize the research required for graduating in the master’s program. During this course students will develop major components of the thesis, write the thesis following the universities rules and regulations (mainly APA writing standards), collect data (from primary or secondary sources), analyze the data, and formulate conclusions and/or policy implications. Student will discuss with the assigned supervisor all the steps necessary for successfully completing the thesis and presenting it during the course and the final defense.
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| Course Objectives: |
Students will complete their thesis by identifying a unique research question, the
literature review leading up to the question and hypothesis, the methods to
answer the question and test the hypothesis. Students will carry out the
proposed methods and discuss their results in the context of the literature.
Students will demonstrate an ability to organize and express their ideas in
accordance with accepted academic norms and ethics.
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BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE COURSE
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| 1 |
Research Topic: is a subject or issue that a researcher is interested in when conducting research. A well-defined research topic is the starting point of every successful research project. Choosing a topic is an ongoing process by which researchers explore, define, and refine their ideas.
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| 2 |
Research Question: Pinpoints exactly what you want to find out in your work. A good research question is essential to guide your research paper, dissertation, or thesis. All research questions should be: 1- Focused on a single problem or issue. 2- Researchable using primary and/or secondary sources. 2 - Feasible to answer within the timeframe and practical constraints. 3 - Specific enough to answer thoroughly. 4 - Complex enough to develop the answer over the space of a paper or thesis. 5 - Relevant to your field of study and/or society more broadly.
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| 3 |
Hypothesis: An idea or explanation for something that is based on known facts but has not yet been proved.
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| 4 |
Research Hypothesis: (Also called as scientific hypothesis) is a statement about the expected outcome of a study (for example, a dissertation or thesis). To constitute a quality hypothesis, the statement needs to have three attributes: 1– specificity, 2- clarity and 3- testability.
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| 5 |
Literature Review: A literature review is a piece of academic writing demonstrating knowledge and understanding of the academic literature on a specific topic placed in context. A literature review also includes a critical evaluation of the material; this is why it is called a literature review rather than a literature report. It is a process of reviewing the literature, as well as a form of writing.
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| 6 |
Primary Data: Is data that is collected by a researcher from first-hand sources, using methods like: Surveys and censuses or interviews.
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| 7 |
Secondary Data: Is the data that has already been collected through primary sources and made readily available for researchers to use for their own research.
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| 8 |
Methodology: Research methodology is defined as the systematic method to resolve a research problem through data gathering using various techniques, providing an interpretation of data gathered and drawing conclusions about the research data.
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| 9 |
Methodology vs. Methods: Methods are “practical procedures used to generate and analyze data (Birks and Mills, 2011, p. 4) while Methodology “is the underlying theory and analysis of how a research is done or should proceed” (Kirsch & Sullivan, 1992, p. 2).
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| 10 |
Empirical Analysis: is a type of research dedicated to the discovery of concrete, verifiable evidence. Guided by the scientific method, empirical analysis allows researchers to remove personal bias and instead use concrete, accurate and repeatable real-world evidence to draw conclusions. The empirical evidence is a central part of the scientific method, leading to the proving or disproving of a hypothesis.
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| Week |
Topics |
| 1 |
1.1 - Getting the research idea, selecting the topic and identifying the research questions (Students should consult the existing literature while working on this task). 1.2 - Preparing the Gantt chart showing the work plan for accomplishing the thesis on time. |
| 2 |
2.1 - Selecting the topic, draft the research questions and draft the Abstract. Where possible, expected research results can be stated based on the existing literature and author's expectations. |
| 3 |
3 - A draft introduction and a draft outline should be prepared. 3.1 - The introduction should include the main theoretical ground and the key research papers where the topic is based as well as a clear and short presentation of all the chapters in the Thesis (one paragraph per each chapter). 3.2 The Outline should have a formal structure as shown in the Thesis Writing Guideline of EPOKA and should address your structure of the Thesis. |
| 4 |
4 - Conduct literature review (Search for papers/articles closely related to your research topic using and documenting key words). |
| 5 |
5 - Draft Literature Review chapter. A minimum of 25 published research papers related to your topic is expected for this chapter. Literature review is a continuous process that should start even before week 1. |
| 6 |
6 - Develop methods and find your data. (Focus on Literature Review on Methodology, Models and Data used in your topic). |
| 7 |
7. Draft Data and Methodology chapter (Refer to Literature Review on Choosing the Model/Methodology and your data) |
| 8 |
8 - Conduct the research analysis, record results. Refine your thesis Outline, Abstract, Research Questions and Introduction based on your research findings. (During this week students will do a PRESENTATION to the members of the department/faculty by showing even some preliminary analysis results if any. Students may get feedback by the department members for improving the thesis and may reflect the suggestions in consultation with their supervisor. If Students do not present their work and their supervisor is not satisfied with their progress done up to this phase, the supervisor may ask the student to continue working again for the prior tasks while waiving the possibility for submission during the current semester and therefore extending the thesis for next semester. |
| 9 |
9 - Write up the results chapter by detailing the findings, interpreting the results both empirically and narratively and contrasting them with the existing literature. |
| 10 |
10 - Write up the Conclusion, Recommendation and Discussion chapter by integrating the research questions and objectives with the analysis results and findings as well as by contrasting it with the existing literature (Try not to be repetitive when drafting conclusion). |
| 11 |
11- Integrate chapters to complete the first draft. (Completing the first full draft of the thesis). |
| 12 |
12 - Refine your draft by purifying the academic writing style and strictly following the EPOKA Thesis Writing guideline for the format of the Thesis. By the end of this week students need to submit the thesis to their supervisors by uploading the draft to Turnitin. |
| 13 |
13 - Check all the final details and refine your draft while waiting for the final comments of the supervisor. (Note that: the supervisors may be on a busy schedule during the last weeks due to the exam period. The final comments should be of a simple nature not affecting the data, methodology, findings and the main structure of the thesis. You are supposed to continuously meet your supervisors and get their approval for each stage of the thesis as the supervisors should follow and approve your work in a timely manner. The supervisor may refuse to continue the supervision of your thesis at any stage after week 8 if you have not been engaged regularly during the first 8 weeks. At this point you may continue working but you cannot submit the thesis during this semester and therefore you will continue the thesis during next semester). |
| 14 |
14 - Reflect the comments of the supervisor in your final draft. Upload your final version in Turnitin and make sure that the total similarity does not exceed 20% as well as the similarity with individual sources is not greater than 2%. (Note that: in case of any problem with plagiarism proved either through Turnitin results or through cross checking by the Scientific Committee of the Department, students will be subject of the Regulation on "Student Discipline" Article 8-m. If similarity results are within the accepted limits, the student gets the final approval by the supervisor and delivers three printed copies to the department for the jury members prior to the defense. |
| 1 |
Students will identify a significant research question |
| 2 |
Students will contextualize the question and hypothesis in the literature of the field |
| 3 |
Students will develop a hypothesis |
| 4 |
Students will develop methods to answer the research question and test the hypothesis |
| 5 |
Students will carry out planned methods |
| 6 |
Students will present results in light of academic norms |
| 7 |
Students will contextualize results and discuss the limitations and significance of the study in light of literature |
| 8 |
Students will follow ethical standards and academic norms in documenting sources |
| 9 |
Students will demonstrate an ability to conduct research, think critically, and organize ideas in effective ways |
| 10 |
Students will defend their research |
| No |
Program Competencies |
Cont. |
| Master of Science in Banking and Finance Program |
| 1 |
The students gain the ability to look at the problems of daily life from a broader perspective with an increased awareness of the importance of moral/ethical considerations and professional integrity in the workplace. |
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| 2 |
They develop a broader understanding of banking and finance including concepts, theories, and analytical tools that serve both in national and international markets. |
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| 3 |
They are able to apply advanced valuation models to estimate the price of different financial assets as well as evaluate multinational business firms. |
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| 4 |
They are able to apply different investment techniques and form portfolios that would generate higher returns by decreasing the unsystematic risk level. |
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| 5 |
They have advanced knowledge of the regulatory framework and functioning of the banking system, international banking, central banking and the conduct of monetary policy. |
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| 6 |
They are able to conduct advanced financial analysis and use the results in the decision-making process of business firms. |
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| 7 |
They are able to understand and use advanced economic theories and tools to solve economic problems in banking and financial services industry. |
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| 8 |
They have the ability to utilize accounting, financial and economic data as well as other information to solve complex and unstructured business problems by using advanced econometric and statistical models. |
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| 9 |
They develop their ability to think critically, do advanced and independent research, analyze, interpret results, draw conclusions, and communicate effectively, both individually and as part of a team. |
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| 10 |
They are provided with opportunities to acquire the necessary skills and competencies to move on to further study within the discipline. |
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