This course aims to introduce students to various areas of empirical finance research and to hone their skills in evaluating and interpreting research questions, methodologies and empirical corporate finance results. One basic skill is literature search which will be conducted through hands-on practice throughout the course. This course will tap into the best expertise of the faculty of this department. Upon completing the course, students should be able to not only evaluate and assess others’ research papers but also discover and identify important academic issues to tackle, often with the help of literature search in vast e-resources. The whole training focuses on the discovery and innovative process which is the nature of academic research.