Vegar Andreas Bergum Posted February 25, 2015 Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 Hi.We just started working on our EE's. I have decided what subject and topic I am going to use. I have also partially phrased a research question. My subject is Economics and my topic is cryptocurrency. My research question is on the lines of how the different cryptocurrencies interfere and affect each other. I have a couple of questions regarding my primary source and what I should focus on.- Is a survey where I gather information about peoples experience with the different currencies enough? Like asking what types of cryptocurrencies they have heard of, if they use any of them, what their opinion on the different currencies are and some other general questions about cryptocurrency. All with a goal of getting some information on what cryptocurrencies are looked upon as the "best" and what is most widely used. - Should I compare to regular currency as well, or would that be too wide?- Any specific economic theories I should look at? We are starting macroeconomics this week, so I don't know a lot about those theories, yet.- What do you think about my topic? Any ideas and/or constructive criticism? Thaaanks. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EconDaddy Posted February 25, 2015 Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 Hi, I think that the research question should be narrowed down in the first place. What exactly do you mean when you say that different cryptocurrencies affect each other? What do you want to analyse? Their market structure, market share, their usage etc.? Is there a specific topic within micro that you think you could connect this topic to? Do you have enough (appropriate) sources? If you know the answers to the above, it will also be easier to conduct your primary research as it can be more focused. All in all, the topic of cryptocurrencies on its own might be too wide if you do not narrow it down to a specific research question that you would like to answer. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vegar Andreas Bergum Posted February 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 Hi, I think that the research question should be narrowed down in the first place. What exactly do you mean when you say that different cryptocurrencies affect each other? What do you want to analyse? Their market structure, market share, their usage etc.? Is there a specific topic within micro that you think you could connect this topic to? Do you have enough (appropriate) sources? If you know the answers to the above, it will also be easier to conduct your primary research as it can be more focused. All in all, the topic of cryptocurrencies on its own might be too wide if you do not narrow it down to a specific research question that you would like to answer. Hi, thank you for the nice reply! My idea was to look at how the cryptocurrencies react to eachother and compare it to how "real" currencies react to eachother. I think this would be more within currency exchange in macro. I have been able to get in touch with one of the people working on currency exhange in the Norwegian Bank, and a guy that is running his own Bitcoin exchange. Some interviews might be what I need as sources. When it comes to theories I haven't had the time to look too deeply into the macroeconomics yet. But after a chat with my dad, who is quite experienced when it comes to currency exchange, he said that it would be wise to look at what factors make currencies more valuable. If I could determine some factors and compare the cryptocurrencies to the "real" currencies, I might have something to go for. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EconDaddy Posted February 26, 2015 Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 Hi, Indeed, go over the exchange rates chapter (if you have a book). You'll see it's nothing else than demand and supply in action where instead of a good or service you are looking at the market of a currency. Also, make sure that you have a look at monetary policies too, as that topic is about how central banks manage their currencies (which affects the exchange rates). Then, it is also a wise idea to talk to these people to have a better understanding of the topic and to get a more specific idea about what exactly you want to research/is worth researching. Go to these meetings as prepared as you possible so that you can get the information you really need. You said you might be looking at how cryptocurrencies react to each other (as opposed to real currencies). Are you sure you'll find enough resources on purely cryptocurrency exchanges (i.e. converting cryptocurrency to cryptocurrency)? Comparing the changing price of cryptocurrencies (in a real currency) to the exchanges of real currencies might be more handy. Here you might want to compare the largest real currency (USD) with the largest cryptocurrency (BitCoin). But given the fact that there is around 1.34 trillion USD in circulation (source) while the market cap of Bitcoin is about $3.28 billion (source) this comparison might be a bit unsound. I really liked what your Dad said. Here, one of your central topics could be the (lack of) regulation of these decentralized (i.e. without a central bank that manages supplies) currencies. The only little problem is that it will be pretty hard to come up with something new and the topic might still be too broad for a 4000-word-essay. You might also opt for looking into a market in Norway where firms accept a cryptocurrency (if there is such a market). And then for example, analyse how the fluctuations of the cryptocurrency affected the market, the firms, and the usage of the currency. If you find such companies you can interview them too. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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