Postgraduate Course: Research Methods in Financial Computing (INFR11216)
Course Outline
| School | School of Informatics |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | Students studying on the MSc Advanced Technology for Financial Computing (ATFC) programme will study this material as part of Informatics Project Proposal INFR11291 (IPP20).
The aim of this course is to equip students on the MSc ATFC with the necessary theoretical, conceptual and applied skills to critically and effectively read,
evaluate, design, propose and ultimately carry out relevant and effective research projects in the realm of financial computing. This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the necessary theoretical and practical foundational skills that are specifically relevant to conduct financial computing oriented research that can be deployed in academic and commercial environments. |
| Course description |
This course introduces the necessary elements to support research in the realm of financial computing, such as providing a holistic understanding of some of the theoretical, conceptual, and applied skills to be able to read, evaluate, design, propose and undertake research in financial computing critically and effectively.
By allowing students to experience and practice the different aspects of the research journey, students will be able to develop a good understanding of research and practical skills to support effective research design in financial computing, such as what kind of data should be collected and analysed, about how inferences should be drawn if the aims of the research are to be realised, as well as appreciating the importance of demonstrating that conclusions drawn from the research are robust and well-grounded epistemologically, theoretically and methodologically.
Topics covered will include:
- What makes research piece interesting, relevant, and how to critically assess its contribution to knowledge
- The role of theory and key theoretical frameworks of financial computing research
- Identifying relevant research questions in financial computing
- Identification, contrasting and combining methodological approaches
- Identification of research contexts and datasets in financial computing
- Developing effective research strategy and structure
- Critical revision of relevant academic literature
- The strengths and weaknesses of different kinds of research design as they relate to the aims, objectives and theoretical underpinnings of any piece of research in financial computing
- Ethics, fairness and diversity, appreciation of good research practice and key practical considerations when proposing research in financial computing
The delivery of this course will vary between lectures and tutorials. Lectures are aimed at providing an overarching guidance on the key aspects to master the learning outcomes of the course and foundations to undertake the written coursework, while tutorials are organised to facilitate in-depth and interactive discussion with peers and tutors, to allow the opportunity to explore areas of interest with respect to specific angles of the topics covered in the course.
By the end of this course, students will produce a research proposal, where they will have the opportunity to exercise and practice the key elements of a financial computing research journey and
receive feedback.
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Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- critically evaluate academic literature on various financial computing issues or other prior work appropriate for their chosen research subject
- use existing literature or other prior work to select and justify choices on the most appropriate methodological and philosophical frameworks, experimental designs, and theoretical goals to carry out their own research in a financial computing related subject
- critically apply project management skills to assess, direct, manage and deliver a research project, such as developing timely plans with a clear breakdown of the relevant activities and tasks required to achieve the project¿s goal, identify links and dependencies between required activities and tasks and determine risk mitigation strategies
- develop skills on relevant project implementation issues, such as recognising the availability, strengths, and limitations associated with primary and secondary data, identify the required databases, instruments, tools, and test environments to process the necessary data to conduct research, understand the core quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods approaches used to conduct research in the realm of financial computing, and recognise potential legal, social, ethical and professional issues
- develop a structured research project proposal in the domain of financial computing
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Research, enquiry, and drive: Develop original and creative responses to problems and issues, and identification of best practices to ensure the achievement of goals.
Critical thinking: Critically review, consolidate, and extend knowledge, skills, practices and critical thinking in financial computing and its sub-disciplines.
Communication: Communicate with peers, more senior colleagues, specialists, both at the written and verbal levels.
Personal effectiveness: Take responsibility for own work, collaboration and teamwork skills across disciplines and cultures, leadership skills, and critical reflection on own and others' roles and work. |
| Keywords | financial computing,research,finance,dissertation |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Tiejun Ma
Tel: (0131 6)51 5642
Email: tiejun.ma@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Lindsay Seal
Tel: (0131 6)50 5194
Email: lindsay.seal@ed.ac.uk |
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