Most of the research that economists do can be grouped into two kinds of activities:
The area of economics that examines the application of statistical methods to economic theories and data is called econometrics. Economists use econometrics for two main purposes: quantifying and testing theories. For example, economic theory tells us that the quantity of asparagus demanded should fall if the price of asparagus increases, all other factors held constant. We might use econometric methods to test whether the effect of price changes on quantity demanded is negative, as theory predicts. We could also attempt to quantify the effect of price on quantity demanded. this would allow us to answer the question "By how much does quantity demanded decline if the price rises by, say, 10 cents per pound?"
Undergraduate courses in economics usually emphasize basic theories of economics. However, they sometimes spend little time on the application and testing of theories. One significant hurdle in attempting to include such "empirical" analysis in courses is that statistical and econometric techniques of data analysis are usually unfamiliar to the undergraduate reader. This set of web-based modules can help the undergraduate economics student with little or no background in statistics or econometrics to understand the basic methods that are used in the analysis of economic data.
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