The Architecture of Evidence: Research Design and Methods for Graduate Study

RES 422 is the second master's-level course in the University's Research Series, written for graduate students who have found their research question and must now design the study that answers it. Built from the Dean's book Designing Research, it is a course in the craft of rigorous evidence: choosing a design that fits the question, gathering data honestly, analyzing it soundly, and reporting it so that others can judge the work fairly.

Across four modules you will learn the logic of research design and the alignment of question, design, data, and analysis; the qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods traditions and when each is the right choice; sampling strategies and what your sample allows your conclusions to claim; the instruments and procedures of trustworthy data collection; and the twin tests — reliability and validity, with their qualitative counterparts — that examiners will press hardest. The later lessons train the principles of honest analysis, statistical thinking in plain language, qualitative coding and thematic analysis, and the disciplined use of research software and AI tools — the servant that must never become the thinker.

The course closes in a capstone practicum at master's standard: a complete research design of your own — question, design, sampling plan, instruments, and analysis plan — defended choice by choice, with a methodology chapter written to be trusted. RES 422 carries six credits and leads directly into RES 501, where designed research becomes original contribution.