Doctoral Seminar in Research Methods I
MIT's Sloan School of Management offers this doctoral-level seminar on the foundations of empirical research in the social sciences. Rather than teaching specific statistical or qualitative techniques, the course examines the assumptions and logic underlying research design itself: how to frame a research question, choose an appropriate methodology, and judge the validity of published studies. Students work through a range of approaches to design, from experimental to observational, and use them to develop and defend their own research proposals. Materials on MIT OpenCourseWare include the syllabus, readings drawn from methodology literature, and assignments built around critiquing existing studies and drafting original research plans. The course is aimed at doctoral students preparing to conduct independent empirical work and assumes some prior exposure to social science coursework. No certificate is offered, as is standard for MIT OpenCourseWare.