IS 231	Fall 2004
Economics of Information	Updated: September 21, 2004

Detail on course requirements and due dates

You are required to write a research paper and make an in-class presentation. The first part of the assignment is to prepare proposals both the paper and the presentation. These can two separate documents, one-to-two pages each, both due on the same day or they can be combined into a single proposal with two parts. I view the presentations as being broader than the papers, but this may not necessarily be so in every case.

There are two general options:

1. The research paper and the class presentation are from the same or related areas. In this case you would cover the broader material in the class presentation and, optionally, introduce the specific topic of your paper. For example, one year I had three students interested in the economic issues related to the European database protection laws and the proposals for similar laws in the U.S. They coordinated their presentations with me to cover several of the readings from the appropriate section of the reading list.

2. The research paper and the class presentation need not be from the same area. You may wish to cover two different areas, one with some breadth for the presentation and the other in more depth for the paper. Or you might want to write a paper on your own and be part of a group presentation on a different topic

In either case, if you plan to do one or both of these with another class member, you must get my permission via the proposal. Similarly, tell me if you wish to coordinate presentations with others in the class (including me).

Key dates:

Wednesday, October 6: Proposals due 

Monday, November 8: Approximate start of presentations.
(Let me know if you have dates you prefer or wish to avoid.)

Wednesday, December 8: (Tentative) Papers due

I shall try to impose some overall logic in the order of the presentations to improve the flow from one topic to another.

A note on formats:

The papers are to be written as research papers: sentences, paragraphs, sections, tables and figures (as needed), footnotes, bibliography. PowerPoint presentations, annotated outlines, etc., are not acceptable. On the other hand, the presentations can benefit from handouts, slides, readings assigned in advance, etc. Let me know about equipment needs at least one week before your presentation.

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