Course: Applied Methodology
The core idea of the methods course is really about how to ask good research questions, and then how to answer those questions. The first section of the course covers research design specifically oriented towards UW master's thesis types (i.e., natural and social science field studies, feasibility analysis, business plans, literature analysis, laboratory studies, metadata exploration, etc) but these research design skills are also relevant for the working world and therefore the course covers proposal and grant writing tips. The statistics and social science sections of the course offer the foundation for a variety of methods used in coastal studies research and help students to learn how to conduct and identify high quality research for their thesis as well as their future careers as regional developers or coastal managers. The course ends with an elevator pitch where students practice communicating research ideas effectively and give each other feedback.