So, for this final blog post I have been asked to reflect on the ‘challenges, triumphs, disappointments and learning experiences’ of writing this report thus far. I have to say, at the start of the semester I felt completely overwhelmed with this subject, and really struggled to come up with a research topic. I kept being told by Kankeshu, classmates and friends that I just needed to pick something that ‘interests’ me. That was the hardest part! I couldn’t find something I was interested in that met all the criteria necessary: a) enough literature to write a literature review but b) not too much literature that the topic had been thoroughly researched before, c) a topic with a research gap but d) not a research gap too wide that I would be choosing something that required more than 13 weeks of writing and e) a topic that had raw data! In the end, I ended up picking the first topic I had thought of, and I’m actually really glad I did, because as the weeks go by and the more I delve into it, the more interested I become.
I think for me, the biggest challenge is still to come, that is, running my regression analysis on EViews. At this point, I have accumulated all my raw data and am currently organising it into my excel spreadsheets, in a format that will be recognisable by Eviews to run analysis on. While I am confident in my ability to run a Chow Break Point Test (as I actually just covered this in ECON339), I am very apprehensive/nervous regarding my ability to conduct the event study. This is because there is no single function in EViews that can compute my data in this way, so I believe this will be incredibly challenging and very time consuming.
One of the things I am super happy with in terms of my project is my literature review. I believe I covered nearly all aspects of the literature review for my research proposal and gained a deep understanding as to how events can alter the price of stocks in the market. This solid preliminary literature review means that I can spend more time focusing on my methodology for my final paper, and only add in extra literature where is needed.
The biggest learning experience has been in regards to time management. This is the most unique subject I ever taken and it has been a challenge to learn how to prioritise writing this paper, especially with hardly any face-to-face classes or lectures. I know the next 4 weeks before the final report is due will be challenging, especially considering that I am reaching the most difficult part of the report and this coincides with end of session and needing to study for finals.
I also think I came up with a title for my paper: ‘Is the real world like Monopoly? Do the Banks always come out on top?: An Investigation into the Impact of the Banking Royal Commission on the Share Prices of Banks in Australia’
Signing out one last time,
Alexia #FW
Alexia's attempt at uncovering the effects of the Banking Royal Commission ... in 10 weeks 
Wow Alexia, what a great final blog post to read about.
Your research journey seems to be nothing less than an enlightening process. The preliminary obstacles you faced in the initial foundations of your study seem to be well and truly blossoming into something spectacular! The Royal Commission is a topic that is not easy to cover in a 10 -week time frame and you have managed it so well alongside your other studies. Your positive attitude towards this task will help you pull through the homestretch. It is also great to hear that as you progress towards the end of your research, you find it more and more interesting.
As I have been following along with all your blogs, I understand that EViews is the biggest challenge for you, but you seem to have it pretty well down packed. Just take it step by step, and your strategy to alter the layout on Excel spreadsheets is something I will take on board myself! As you have two primary methodologies to cover (Chow test and Event studies), I would suggest beginning putting the Chow test data into a regression model ASAP so you are able to spend more time on the difficult parts of your research. My suggestion would be to pick up a third-party opinion on the conduction of an event study by your Econ339 lecturer and see if he has any tips on how to get around this challenge.
Super happy to hear that you are confident with your literature review, as it really is the glue that binds the entire secondary research together. Because you have successfully built a firm base for your project, this will further assist you when it comes to concluding your research task as you will be able to clearly reflect on previous literature extracted.
It’s not too long now, so I wish you a final GOODLUCK and would just like to say that as a dedicated reader to your study It was an amazing experience to see the growth of your investigation.
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