Research questions frequently arise as a result of an in-depth examination of an area of research that has already received attention in the finance literature. The research questions take many forms:

(1)investigating previously unanswered questions, perhaps with new data, new techniques, or new models,
(2)corrections of flawed methods,
(3)investigating new phenomena,
(4)new approaches to old problems,

(5)testing implications of theories,
(6)synthesizing previously unconnected research areas,
(7)investigating public policy issues,
(8)improving the measurement of variables, etc.

I believe that by examining how the research has developed in several areas in corporate finance, you can learn how to identify research questions. I also hope that in the process you learn how to decide which research questions merit further consideration and which ones should be dropped.


Spring 2010


Lecturer: Professor Sheng-Syan Chen
Office: 管二館603
Tel: 33661083
E-mail: fnschen@mba.ntu.edu.tw
Consultation Hours: By appointment


I. Course Objectives:

The primary objective of the course is to exchange ideas in corporate finance. I hope that doing this will help you meet several other objectives, namely,

(1) Improve your ability to formulate viable research topics. The means of doing this are to examine a number of research areas in corporate finance to see how they developed, to practice by suggesting lines of research in areas that we discuss, to select areas for discussion, to prepare literature searches, and to engage in discussions of research.
(2) Improve your understanding of current areas of research in corporate finance. The means of doing this is to examine a sampling of current research areas in corporate finance.
(3) Improve your ability to discuss, comment upon, and referee the work of others. The means of doing this are class discussions of papers.
(4) Improve your ability to conduct research in corporate finance. The means of doing this is to conduct a literature search on a topic, formulate a summary of extant research, devise testable hypotheses, and design experiments for future research in corporate finance.


II. Some Philosophy:

Research questions frequently arise as a result of an in-depth examination of an area of research that has already received attention in the finance literature. The research questions take many forms:

(1) investigating previously unanswered questions, perhaps with new data, new techniques, or new models,
(2) corrections of flawed methods,
(3) investigating new phenomena,
(4) new approaches to old problems,
(5) testing implications of theories,
(6) synthesizing previously unconnected research areas,
(7) investigating public policy issues,
(8) improving the measurement