4. Sample selection and methodology 4.1 Sample select Using the Connect 4 database of company prospectuses, we identify a population of 403 firms that filed for official quotation on the AsX by lodging a prospectus with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission(ASiC) between January 1, 1999 and December 31, 2000 The Connect 4 database classifies firms into year groups on the basis of prospectus filing dates As a result, our sample excludes those firms that filed for quotation before January 1, 1999 but did not, in fact, list on the AsX until after December 31, 1998. A total of 165 firms filed for quotation in 1999 and a further 238 firms filed for quotation in 2000. We eliminate 27 firms that filed for quotation but did not list on the AsX until after December 31, 2000 because of the need to calculate the standard deviation of post-IPO returns using intra-day return data for all IPO candidates for 180 days after listing. This restriction also ensured that every firm in the final sample had been operational as a public company for at least six months. We also eliminate 36 firms that filed for quotation during the two-year window but later cancelled their ipo b ithdrawing their prospectus, as well as 57 firms that lodged a prospectus in relation to a rights issue as part of a seasoned equity offering IINSERT TABLE I HERE Our study focuses on the phenomenon of underpricing in the context of Australian technology firms. To this end, we limit our sample of IPo candidates to those australian-based firms that may be classified into technology segments on the basis of the industry definitions developed by the Wall Street Research Net(WSRN). The technology industry segments identified by WSRN are: Search/portals; content/communities; e-tailers; financial services; e-commerce enablers security; performance software; hardware; high technology manufacturing:: Internet services advertising/marketing; consultants/designers; speed/bandwidth; ISPs/ access providers; and biotechnology(including biopharmaceutical). These data screens culminate in a final sample size of 156 Austral ian technology firms 4.2 Methodolo Model of Underpricing We estimate the following regression model to test our explanations of underpricing for Australian technology firm12 4. Sample Selection and Methodology 4.1 Sample Selection Using the Connect 4 database of company prospectuses, we identify a population of 403 firms that filed for official quotation on the ASX by lodging a prospectus with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) between January 1, 1999 and December 31, 2000. The Connect 4 database classifies firms into year groups on the basis of prospectus filing dates. As a result, our sample excludes those firms that filed for quotation before January 1, 1999 but did not, in fact, list on the ASX until after December 31, 1998. A total of 165 firms filed for quotation in 1999 and a further 238 firms filed for quotation in 2000. We eliminate 27 firms that filed for quotation but did not list on the ASX until after December 31, 2000 because of the need to calculate the standard deviation of post-IPO returns using intra-day return data for all IPO candidates for 180 days after listing. This restriction also ensured that every firm in the final sample had been operational as a public company for at least six months. We also eliminate 36 firms that filed for quotation during the two-year window but later cancelled their IPO by withdrawing their prospectus, as well as 57 firms that lodged a prospectus in relation to a rights issue as part of a seasoned equity offering. [INSERT TABLE 1 HERE] Our study focuses on the phenomenon of underpricing in the context of Australian technology firms. To this end, we limit our sample of IPO candidates to those Australian-based firms that may be classified into technology segments on the basis of the industry definitions developed by the Wall Street Research Net (WSRN). The technology industry segments identified by WSRN are: Search/portals; content/communities; e-tailers; financial services; e-commerce enablers; security; performance software; hardware; high technology manufacturing; Internet services; advertising/marketing; consultants/designers; speed/bandwidth; ISPs/access providers; and biotechnology (including biopharmaceutical). These data screens culminate in a final sample size of 156 Australian technology firms. 4.2 Methodology Model of Underpricing We estimate the following regression model to test our explanations of underpricing for Australian technology firms: