Course Thesis Writing for MBA students for the e-Agrimba Program at the Technical University of Moldova in Chisinau In this course four elements are important: Information (lectures), Application (personal assignments), Presentation by students, Evaluation and feed-back (Students and Lecturers). Presentations, personal assignments and feed-back (comments) will be evaluated and marked (no exam).

1. December 15-16, 2023
Lecturers: Prof. Dr W.J.M. Heijman, Dept of Economics,
Dr Katarzyna Kurek, Dept of Finance and Trade.
Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague
E-mail: wim.heijman@wur.nl
Course Thesis Writing for MBA students for
the e-Agrimba Program at the Technical
University of Moldova in Chisinau

2. Number of hours: 8
Number of students: 29
Time slot: Two full days

3. In this course four elements are important:
1. Information (lectures),
2. Application (personal assignments),
3. Presentation by students,
4. Evaluation and feed-back (Students and Lecturers).
Presentations, personal assignments and feed-back
(comments) will be evaluated and marked (no exam).

4. The course consists of two parts:
1: MBA Project Description;
2: MBA Project Presentation.

5. Day 1:
9:00-11:00: Lecture
11:00-15:00: Working on personal assignment
15:00-17:00: Questions
Day 2:
9:00-11:00: Working on personal assignment and questions
11:00-16:00: Presentations and feed back

6. Literature:
https://www.scribbr.com/dissertation/research-proposal/
For this part a standardised template will be used
(Annex 1).

7. •What?
•Why?
•How?
•When?
Crucial Questions:

8. Title
Ch. 1: Introduction Ch. 2 Ch. 3 … Ch. X: Conclusion

9. Annex 1: TEMPLATE FOR DESCRIBING AN MBA
PROJECT
Proposed title of the project
Your name
Your supervisor’s name
Programme
Department
Institution
Date

10. Table of Contents
Introduction
Background and context
Problem statement
Research questions
Relevance and importance of the research
Literature review
Key concepts, theories and studies
Key debates and controversies
Gaps in existing knowledge
Research design and methods
Aims and objectives
Methods and sources
Practicalities and potential obstacles
Implications and contributions to knowledge
Practical implications
Theoretical implications
Reference list
Research schedule
Research phase
Objectives
Deadline

11. Introduction
The introduction should include the following elements:
Background and Context
Lead the reader into the topic and scope of your research.
Problem Statement
Describe the theoretical or practical research problem that you want to address. What is already known about the
problem? What is missing from current knowledge?
Research Questions
State the specific question(s) that you aim to answer.
Relevance and Importance of the Research
Make it clear what new insights you will contribute, who they are relevant to, and why the research is worth
doing.

12. Literature review
The literature review summarizes, compares and critiques the most relevant scholarly sources on the topic.
There are many different ways to structure a literature review, but it should explore:
Key Concepts, Theories and Studies
Compare, contrast, and establish the theories and concepts that will be most important for your project.
Key Debates and Controversies
Identify points of conflict and situate your own position.
Gaps in Existing Knowledge
Show what is missing and how your project will fit in.

13. Research design and methods
Here you should explain your approach to the research and describe exactly what steps you will
take to answer your questions.
Research design
Explain how you will design the research. Qualitative or quantitative? Original data collection or
primary/secondary sources? Descriptive, correlational or experimental?
Methods and Sources
Describe the tools, procedures, participants and sources of the research. When, where and how
will you collect, select and analyze data?
Practical Considerations
Address any potential obstacles, limitations and ethical or practical issues. How will you plan for
and deal with problems?

14. Implications and contributions to knowledge
Finish the proposal by emphasizing why your proposed project is important
and what it will contribute to practice or theory.
Practical Implications
Will your findings help improve a process, inform policy, or make a case for
concrete change?
Theoretical Implications
Will your work help strengthen a theory or model, challenge current
assumptions, or create a basis for further research?

15. References
AuthorLastName, FirstInitial., & Author LastName, FirstInitial. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume(Issue), Page Number(s).
https://doi.org/number
AuthorLastName, FirstInitial., & Author LastName, FirstInitial. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume(Issue), Page Number(s).
https://doi.org/number
AuthorLastName, FirstInitial., & Author LastName, FirstInitial. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume(Issue), Page Number(s).
https://doi.org/number
AuthorLastName, FirstInitial., & Author LastName, FirstInitial. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume(Issue), Page Number(s).
https://doi.org/number
AuthorLastName, FirstInitial., & Author LastName, FirstInitial. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume(Issue), Page Number(s).
https://doi.org/number
AuthorLastName, FirstInitial., & Author LastName, FirstInitial. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume(Issue), Page Number(s).
https://doi.org/number

16. Research schedule
Research phase Objectives Deadline

17. Literature:
• https://writingproject.fas.harvard.edu/files/hwp/files/writingeconomics.pdf
• The Young Economist’s Short Guide to Writing Economic Research | Pomona College in
Claremont, California - Pomona College
• Writing Tips for Economics Research Papers – 2021-2022 Edition (iza.org)
Kasia’s Suggestions:
• https://www.coursera.org/learn/research-methods
• https://www.guru99.com/free-online-writing-courses.html
On Ethics and other suggestions:
• https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/research-
ethics/#:~:text=What%20are%20ethical%20considerations%20in,for%20harm%2C%20and
%20results%20communication.

18. The Young Economist’s Short Guide to Writing Economic
Research
Attributes of Writing Economics:
•The discourse is often mathematical, with lots of formulas,
lemmas, and proofs.
•Writing styles vary widely. Some authors are very dry and
technical while a few are quite eloquent.

19. Economics writing is different from many other types of
writing. It is essentially technical, and the primary goal is to
achieve clarity.
A clear presentation will allow the strength of your underlying
analysis and the quality of your research to shine through.
Unlike prose writing in other disciplines, economics research takes
time. Successful papers are not cranked out the night before a due
date.

20. Getting Started
The hardest part of any writing assignment is starting.
Economics research usually begins with a strong
understanding of literature, and papers require a section
that summarizes and applies previous literature to what
the paper at hand. This is the best way to start.
Your writing will demonstrate that you understand the
findings that relate to the topic.

21. Structure
Economists use the first few paragraphs to set up
research questions and the model and data they use to
think about it. Sure, it can be dry, but this format ensures
the write and reader have strong grasp on the subject
and structure of the work that follows.

22. Clear and Concise Work
Clarity is hard to achieve, but revising and reworking a paper ensures it is easy
to read
•Organize your ideas into an argument with the help of an outline.
•Define the important terms you will use
•State your hypothesis and proceed deductively to reach your conclusions
•Avoid excess verbiage
•Edit yourself, remove what is not needed, and keep revising until you get
down to a simple, efficient way of communicating
•Use the active voice
•Put statements in positive form
•Omit needless words (concise writing is clear writing)
•In summaries, generally stick to one tense

23. Time Management
Poor time management can wreck the best-planned
papers. Deadlines are key to successful research papers.
•Start the project by finding your topic
•Begin your research
•Start and outline
•Write a draft
•Revise and polish

24. - Abstract
- References
- Key Words
- Plagiarism
- Proofreading
Finally:

25. The Language of Economic Analysis
Economic theory has become very mathematical. Most PhD students are
mathematicians, not simply economics majors. This means most quality
economic research requires a strong use of mathematical language.
Economic analysis is characterized by the use of models, simplified
representations of how economic phenomena work. A model’s predictions
about the future or the past are essentially empirical hypotheses. Since
economics is not easily tested in controlled experiments, research
requires data from the real world (census reports, balance sheets), and
statistical methods (regressions and econometrics) to test the predictive
power of models and hypotheses based on those models.

26. The Writing Process
Finding a Topic
There are a million ways to find a topic. It may be that you are
writing for a specific subfield of economics, so topics are limited
and thus easier to pick. However, must research starts organically,
from passive reading or striking news articles. Make sure to find
something that interests you. Be sure to find a niche and make a
contribution to the subfield.
You will also need a project that can be done within the parameters
of the assignment (length, due date, access to research materials).
A profoundly interesting topic may not be manageable given the
time and other constraints you face. The key is to just be practical.

27. Be sure to start your research as soon as possible. Your
topic will evolve along the way, and the question you begin
with may become less interesting as new information draws
you in other directions. It is perfectly fine to shape your topic
based on available data, but don’t get caught up in endlessly
revising topics.

28. Finding and Using Sources
There are two types of economic sources: empirical data (information
that is or can be easily translated into numerical form), and academic
literature (books and articles that help you organize your ideas).
Economic data is compiled into a number of useful secondary sources:
•Economic Report of the President
•Statistical Abstract of the United States
•National Longitudinal Survey
•Census data
•Academic journals

29. The Outline
A good outline acts as an agenda for the things you want to
accomplish:
•Introduction: Pose an interesting question or problem
•Literature Review: Survey the literature on your topic
•Methods/Data: Formulate your hypothesis and describe your data
•Results: Present your results with the help of graphs and charts
•Discussion: Critique your method and/or discuss any policy
implications
•Conclusions: Summarize what you have done; pose questions for
further research

30. Writing a Literature Review
The literature review demonstrates your familiarity with
scholarly work on your topic and lays the foundations for
your paper. The particular issues you intent to raise, the
terms you will employ, and the approach you will take
should be defined with reference to previous scholarly
works.

31. Presenting a Hypothesis
Formulate a question, problem or conjecture, and describe the
approach you will take to answer, solve, or test it. In presenting your
hypothesis, you need to discuss the data set you are using and the
type of regression you will run. You should say where you found the
data, and use a table, graph, or simple statistics to summarize them.
In term papers, it may not be possible to reach conclusive results.
Don’t be afraid to state this clearly and accurately. It is okay to have an
inconclusive paper, but it is not okay to make overly broad and
unsupported statements.

32. Presenting Results
There are essentially two decisions to make: (1) How many empirical results
should be presented, and (2) How should these results be described in the text?
•Focus only on what is important and be as clear as possible. Both smart and
dumb readers will appreciate you pointing things out directly and clearly.
•Less is usually more: Reporting a small group of relevant results is better than
covering every possible statistical analysis that could be made on the data.
•Clearly and precisely describe your tables, graphs, and figures in the text of your
results section. The first and last sentence in a paragraph describing a result
should be “big picture” statements, describing how the results in the table, graph
or figure fit into the overall theme of the paper.

33. Discussing Results
The key to discussing results is to stay clear of making value
judgments, and rely instead on economic facts and analyses. It is
not the job of an economist to draw policy conclusions, even if
the research supports strong evidence in a particular direction.

34. Referencing Sources
Economists generally cite sources in conventional formats at the end
of papers.
This guide was made possible by the excellent work of Robert Neugeboren and Mireille
Jacobson of Harvard University and Paul Dudenhefer of Duke University.