Coursework Assessment Brief:
Finance research proposals

Module code/name MSIN0209/ Finance Research Project
Module leader name Daphne Sobolev
Academic year 2021/22
Term 2
Assessment title Research proposal
Individual/group assessment Individual

Return and status of marked assessments: Within 4 weeks from the date of submission as per UCL guidelines. The
module team will update you if there are delays through unforeseen circumstances (e.g. ill health). All results when
first published are provisional until confirmed by the Examination Board.
Copyright Note to students: Copyright of this assessment brief is with the module leader(s) named above. If this
brief draws upon work by third parties (e.g. Case Study publishers) such third parties also hold copyright. It must not
be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or shared any other individual(s) and/or
organisations, including web-based organisations, without permission of the copyright holder(s).
Academic Misconduct: Academic Misconduct is defined as any action or attempted action that may result in a
student obtaining an unfair academic advantage. Academic misconduct includes plagiarism, obtaining help
from/sharing work with others be they individuals and/or organisations or any other form of cheating. Refer to
Academic Manual Section 9: Student Academic Misconduct Procedure - 9.2 Definitions.
Referencing: You must reference and provide full citation for ALL sources used, including articles, text books, lecture
slides and module materials. This includes any direct quotes and paraphrased text. If in doubt, reference it. If you
need further guidance on referencing please see UCL’s referencing tutorial for students here: https://library-
guides.ucl.ac.uk/referencing-plagiarism/welcome. Failure to cite references correctly may result in your work being
referred to the Academic Misconduct Panel.
Content of this assessment brief
Section Content
A Core information
B Coursework brief and requirements
C Module learning outcomes covered in this assessment
D How your work is assessed

Section A: Core information

Submission date 02/02/2022
Submission time 10.00 am [UK time]
Assessment is marked out of: No marks are given, however, feedback will be provided
% weighting of this assessment
within total module mark
0% (the research proposals would not count towards the final
mark of the course
Maximum word count/page
length/duration
1 page, font 11 (e.g. Calibri or Times New Roman), single spaced
paragraphs and have regular margins and spaces, not including
the title page and reference list
Footnotes, appendices, tables,
figures, diagrams, charts included
in/excluded from word count/page
length?
The title page, reference list, and the appendices (if added) are
not included in the page count. The rest will be counted towards
the page count.
Bibliographies, reference lists
included in/excluded from word
count/page length?
The reference list is not included in the word count
Penalty for exceeding word
count/page length
If the word count/page length is exceeded the excess content will
NOT be marked.

Penalty for late submission No late submission penalty will be applied
Submitting your assessment Please submit your work to the Turnitin box ‘Dissertation
research proposals, due Wednesday 2nd February at 10.00 am’
on the web site of the course MSIN0209 under the tab
‘Research proposal submissions’
Anonymity of identity. Normally, all
submissions are anonymous unless
the nature of the submission is such
that anonymity is not appropriate,
illustratively as in presentations or
where minutes of group meetings
are required as part of a group work
submission
The nature of this assessment is such that anonymity is required.


Section B: Assessment Brief and Requirements
The purpose of the research proposal is to provide you with feedback, that would
help you improve your dissertation. It should also help you form the skeleton of
your dissertation and plan your progress towards the submission of your
dissertation.
Before you start writing your research proposal, please choose a topic and conduct
an extensive literature survey. Please include in your literature survey papers from
peer-reviewed journals. Then, choose three papers from the ones that you read,
which are:
1. The most relevant to your research question
2. From peer-reviewed journals.

Please include in your research proposal:
A. A title page, including:
1. The title of your research proposal
2. Subjects/Methods: Please choose from the following table 1-3 subjects and 1-3
methods which are the most relevant to your research proposal (you can choose
any of the subjects and any of the methods, e.g. topic S5 and method M1).
Please specify on your title page the codes and names of the subjects and
methods that you chose.

Subjects Methods
S1. Asset pricing M1. Basic statistical testing and
methods, e.g. t-tests, chi-squared,
correlations, regressions
S2. Corporate finance M2. OLS cross-section and time
series
S3. Time series analysis
and forecasting
M3. Optimising models
S4. Hedge funds M4. Multiple regression models
S5. Mutual funds M5. Dynamic econometric models
S6. Portfolio development M6. Dynamic panel data modelling
S7. Behavioural finance M7. VAR models
S8. Socially responsible
investment, ethics and
sustainability
M8. ARIMA models and Box-
Jenkins methods, ARCH, GARCH,
EGARCH, and TGARCH models
S9. Econometric models M9. Structural equation modelling
and path analysis
S10. Bank lending M10. Difference in differences
S11. Risk analysis M11. Fixed effects
S12. Mathematical and
computational finance
M12. Other, please specify
S13. Financial accounting
S14. Financial crises
S15. Corporate governance
S16. Other, please specify



B. Your research proposal
Your research proposal should include the following sections:
1. Introduction
a. Discussion of the three papers from peer reviewed journals that you chose, their
main results and how they lead to your research question/s
b. Discussions of the shortcomings of the literature, as reflected through the
papers that you read in your literature survey and in particular in the three
papers that you chose. In addition, your discussion should explain how your
dissertation would extend the existing literature and highlight the originality of
your research question.
2. Theoretical background and hypotheses development, including a discussion of
references (possibly other references) and how they lead to your hypothesis/es.
3. Possible data sources (for example, Yahoo Finance, Thomson Reuters, firm
reports, surveys, etc).
4. Ideas for your analysis, including an explanation of how you would conduct your
analysis (for example, regressions, t-tests, content analysis, etc).
5. Applications (for example, an explanation of the way in which groups, such as
investors, or institutions, such as banks or firms, could benefit for your work).
6. Reference list.


Comments
1. Referencing. Whenever you use information from sources, please use in-text
references to highlight that, and write their complete references in your
reference list. Please use the Harvard referencing style for your research
proposal.
2. Length limit and font. One page, excluding the title page and the reference list
(but including in-text references). Please use font 11 (e.g. Calibri or Times New
Roman), single spaced paragraphs and have regular margins and spaces

Good luck!





Section C: Module Learning Outcomes covered in this
Assessment
The learning outcomes of the dissertations are:
1. To provide students with an opportunity to create a substantial piece of work on
the topic of their choice,
2. To highlight students’ skills and experience in the field of finance,
3. To find answers to specific, important issues,
4. To encourage students to share their outcome with potential employers or use it
as a starting point for further studies.

The research proposal encourages students to start working on their dissertations, and
gives them the opportunity to obtain feedback on their ideas. Hence, it contributes
towards the achievement of the learning outcomes of the dissertations.

Section D: How your work is assessed
The feedback on the research proposals will aim at understanding whether the proposed
research could potentially fit the dissertation marking guides.
The dissertations will be assessed in line with the marking rubrics which are available in the file
‘Master in Finance Dissertation rubrics 2021-2022’ on the web site of MSIN0209 under the tab
‘Introduction lecture and instructions for the research proposal’.

You are strongly advised to not compare your feedback with feedbackss of other submissions from your
student colleagues. Each submission has its own range of characteristics which differ from others in terms
of breadth, scope, depth, insights, and subtleties and nuances. On the surface one submission may appear
to be similar to another but invariably, digging beneath the surface reveals a range of differing
characteristics.