Applying Ecological Metrics to Market Analysis by Ethan Morris

This summer I spent time working with Professor Balakrishnan working on ecology metrics and its applications on market analysis and conditions. The point of the research was to highlight the application of ecology metrics and how it can easily be applied to market conditions to see whether there is an imbalance between big firms and small firms and see the state of the market or how it changes over time. In our work so far, we see that some ecology metrics correctly highlight market health by applying them on toy data and then also real car market data. Being able to correctly identify market conditions can help set the guidelines on regulations set by the government.

I learned a lot about using data analysis in markets and how to visualize the data to make it easy to understand. Being able to make code that can work with different data sets with slightly different configurations was also a skill I gained. I now know how to set up documents that tell stories and make it easy to understand for the people who need to read them.

Getting the practice and understanding needed to make accessible documentation for all different types of people to read is very important. We worked in a step-by-step process, not just jumping into the data, while also maintaining version control to minimize helped prevent unwanted errors and wasting time. I also learned a lot about R markdown which I have used very briefly before but after this research program I am confident in my abilities and would consider myself a lot more advanced.

There were many obstacles that I endured as this was not directly in my field of study. Using R and coding is within my field of study, but markets and ecology was something I had very little experience in. I had to overcome this by looking at documentation online using Google Scholar and other academic resources whenever I could. I felt like I was learning on the job, which definitely slowed me down a little, but I know this is what it’s like in the real world, especially in data science. You are not always analyzing things you are an expert in, and you’ll need to lean on the resources online and the people around you to help you apply the skills you have.

Research is a cool way to get experience. I do think people underestimate the application especially when everyone only wants an internship. I would recommend connecting with professors early on and try to get into a research program as soon as you can. Shop around and find a couple that you would like to be a part of and try connecting with them as soon as possible. Try figuring out what exactly is happening in the research and see where you can contribute.

Learn more about the Research & Creative Projects for Undergrads at UW Bothell.