Preface

These lecture notes are prepared for an upper level undergraduate course in time series econometrics. Every fall I teach a course on applied time series analysis at James Madison University. These notes borrow heavily from the teaching material that I have developed over several years of instruction of this course.

One of my main objective is to develop a primer on time series analysis that is more accessible to undergraduate students than standard textbooks available in the market. Most of these textbooks in my opinion are densely written and assume advanced mathematical skills on the part of our students. Further, I have also struggled with their topic selection and organization. Often I end up not following the chapters in order and modify content (by adding or subtracting) to meet my students needs. Such changes causes confusion for some students and more importantly discourages optimal use of the textbook. Hence, this is an undertaking to develop a primer on time series that is accessible, follows a more logical sequencing of topics, and covers content that is most useful for undergraduate students in business and economics.

Note: These notes have been prepared by me using various sources, published and unpublished. All errors that remain are mine.