This course develops core research competencies in economics, emphasizing rigorous inquiry and evidence-based analysis. It prepares learners to produce methodologically sound insights for academic, policy, and business contexts.

By the end of the course, the learner should be able to:

ELO 1: Formulate researchable economic problems, hypotheses and proposals using appropriate theoretical and conceptual frameworks.

ELO 2: Design research methodologies, including data collection, ethical considerations, and statistical/econometric analysis.

ELO 3: Utilize relevant computer packages (e.g., EViews, STATA, SPSS, R) to analyse, interpret and present quantitative and qualitative data effectively.

Nature and foundations of social science research, including its purpose, types, ethics, and logistics, before moving to research proposal development, covering structure, components, and distinctions from a thesis. 

Students learn to conduct a literature review and identify research gaps, followed by research design and methodology with applications in economics, including experimental, quasi-experimental, observational, and mixed methods.

 The course examines economic models, their ingredients, specification, estimation, recursive methods, instrumental variables, and reduced forms. 

It then addresses data collection methods, such as secondary data, technology use, questionnaires, surveys, and qualitative interviews, as well as sampling techniques, including probability and non-probability methods, sample size, and bias. 

Emphasis is placed on data analysis, beginning with descriptive statistics, visualization, and distribution measures, and extending to inferential and econometric techniques such as hypothesis testing, regression, ANOVA, and non-parametric tests.

 The course concludes with critical evaluation of research,report writing, and computer applications, where students assess research quality, address ethical issues, and apply statistical software like EViews, PcGive, SHAZAM, SPSS, and STATA for analysis and interpretation.