This course instructs students in the importance of research design and methods in producing reliable and verifiable data for use in making evidence based analysis and conclusion in applied "real world" research that will have a direct relation to the student's career. Students will learn to define scientific knowledge and how worldviews and philosophical underpinnings inform research methodologies, cite and reference in APA style, and write an argument in an academic voice. Topics covered in this course include developing a research topic, identify, analyze, and synthesize literature in the field of study, writing the literature review, developing the research question, a review of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research methodologies and designs, units of analysis, ethical issues and the role of an institutional review board in conducting research, data collection, describe and analyze the data, test hypotheses, form a reasoned argument and conclusions based on a synthesis and evaluation of the evidence provided by the research design. Students may use this course to develop a pilot study for their thesis or capstone course. Formerly: ADMN 609, COM 602 and ISS 680 Credits: 3 Prerequisites: None