The Research Design Studio is a notion conceived over the past several years in collaboration with several entities around the University. The vision underlying our decision to institute the Research Design Studio has been informed by the strong push to promote research in College and University as a whole. Faculty instrumental in the development of this service have been traditionally approached individually to provide support in a variety of ways to individuals or units to support individual research studies, collaborative research programs, grant submissions, and internal or external evaluation efforts. We believe that by coordinating our efforts, we can provide more consistent support, as well as promote individuals’ independence in carrying out their own research visions by bringing our various expertise into a studio framework.
Supported by the Studio approach that the Center for Technology in Education (CTE) has promoted for years in the iStudio space (second floor of TC), we have decided to institute the Research Design Studio (RDS) for the 2014-2015 academic year in an attempt to demonstrate the efficacy of this approach. The RDS is an unfunded activity at present – and if we find that the services are valued by the students and faculty of TC and the University, we will move forward to seek external funding using the current year as a “proof of concept” demonstration that will serve several university and college missions.
We invite any students, faculty, knowledge groups, or collaborative groups working to promote their research efforts to come to the RDS to gain the support they need to make their research and evaluation activities reach the next level of proficiency. Services we envision providing include:
- Assistance in establishing high-quality research design for research and evaluation projects
- Guidance in developing grant proposals that will meet the expectations for high quality research design
- Support in determining the most appropriate instruments and measures for examining your research questions
- Training in developing a research program for junior scholars or senior faculty seeking to branch into new domains of inquiry
- Support in establishing collaborative groups within and beyond the university
The work of the RDS is supported by faculty fellows and graduate students with expertise in a broad array of research design and statistical methods. With the expertise assembled in our group, we are confident we can assist any researcher or evaluator take the next steps in reaching their goals. Our services are collaborative and supportive in nature – that is, we are not seeking to become authors on your papers, contributors to your presentations, or members of your grant team. However, if you would like that level of collaborative support, individuals may very well serve that role. As a group, the RDS merely asks that you acknowledge the studio in your presentation or publication as you find appropriate.
The final mission of the RDS is to provide our doctoral students with experience in supporting colleagues in their research efforts. Most students currently serving time with the RDS are doctoral candidates in Educational Psychology, with a strong focus on research methodology and/or statistical analyses – so this will assist in their training to become professionals in the field. As such, you will find that most requests for support will involve one of the GA’s working closely with you (and one of our faculty members as needed). All suggestions and guidance will be overseen by one of our experienced faculty members to ensure you are receiving high quality support that is validated in the field.
Finally – if you are a researcher who would like to be a part of the RDS (on the service side), please contact Jerrell Cassady to be included in our list of fellows seen below. We are happy to increase the number of areas that we can serve by having experts from all perspectives of research and evaluation. We recognize and value the diversity of research strategies in the fields of education and psychology – and there is always room for more expertise in the Studio. If you are a graduate student seeking experience (again, on the service side), we welcome your input as well. All are welcome to contribute to the mission of promoting research in the College and at the University.
For support with your own research project, you are welcome to contact us through the form below (someone will contact you to follow up with a meeting) or drop in at one of the posted times (calendar linked here) when someone will be sitting in the RDS.
**One important note – if you are a graduate student seeking support on your dissertation or related project, we will involve your committee chairperson in all our collaborations, to ensure that the guidance and advice we offer is communicated to both you and a representative of you committee.