Integrating Research Skills Training into Non-Research Methods Courses

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by awa

Research skills are widely valued by industry and university administrators, yet students often dislike research methods courses where these skills are taught. This study examines how to teach research skills in non-research methods courses through a Cracker Barrel session of short, facilitated discussions. Classroom strategies were identified alongside challenges tied to the meaning of “research” and the development of a research ethos among students and faculty.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Method

Cracker Barrel session design

Participants and discussion procedures

Results

Specific classroom strategies

Research ethos

Integrating Research Skills Training into Non-‐Research Methods Courses. Jules Woolf, University of Windsor Abstract Research skills are a valued commodity by industry and university administrators. Despite the importance placed on these skills students typically dislike taking research method courses where these skills are learned. However, training in research skills does not necessarily have tobe confined to these courses. In this study participants at a Cracker Barrel session (a series of short discussion sessions) discussed the issue of teaching research skills in non-research methods courses. Specific classroom strategies were identified along with issues related to the concept of research and the development of a research ethos among students and faculty. Introduction Training in research skills is highly valued in the marketplace (Murtonen & Lehtinen, 2005) . Likewise, university administrators are emphasizing the importance of students acquiring research skills. Subsequently, many degree programs include research methodology courses as requirements (Wagner, Garner, & Kamulich, 2011) and research skills training is considered asan underlying principal of undergraduate education (Katkin, 2003) . The benefits of developing research skills include enhanced cognitive (e.g., problem solving and critical thinking) and personal communication skills (Lopatto, 2003; Magolda, 1999 ; Sells, Smith, & Newfield, 1997 ; Seymour, Hunter, Laursen, & Deantoni, 2004) . Research skills training has also been associated with greater success in technical professions and enhanced probability of post graduate study (Ford, Bracken, & Wilson, 2009; Lopatto, 2003) . However, students’perceptions of the relevance of research methods courses come into question and students are often reluctant to study research methods (Epstein, 1987 ; Nguyen & Lam, 2009; Wagner et al., 2011) . Students may not understand the rationale of a research methods course when their career ambitions do not relate to academia. Training students to develop research skills does not have to take place solely within the confines of a research methods course. Assignments and activities can be conducted in discipline-specific courses where students still learn specific course content, but simultaneously develop research skills. For instance, assignments that involve inductive or deductive reasoning, creation of information collection procedures (e.g., questionnaires, interview scripts), and the subsequent collection, analysis, interpretation, synthesis and evaluation of such data can be seamlessly integrated into the syllabus. The purpose of this study was to explore the contention that research skills training can take place outside of research methods courses, to develop specific teaching strategies and identify relevant issues. To achieve this, attendees of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 2013 annual conference were invited to participate in a ‘Cracker Barrel’session – a series of short discussion sessions. Method The Cracker Barrel session was used to study the central question, “How can research skills training be integrated into non-research methods courses”. A Cracker Barrel activity involves a collection of stalls that are hosted by different presenters who lead a short discussion activity. Discussions at each stall were limited to 12 minutes, after which attendees were instructed to move to a different stall. The entire Cracker Barrel activity lasted one hour and therefore each stall hosted four groups of participants, i.e., four rounds of discussion were conducted at each stall. Research ethics board clearance was obtained for this study. Attendees at my stall were presented with a brief synopsis of the issue – namely that research skills are desired by industry, students typically dislike research method courses and faculty assigned to these courses are often early in their career and/or are reluctant to teach these cou

FAQs

Why do students often dislike research methods courses, according to the study?

Students commonly question the relevance of research methods courses, leading to reluctance to study them, especially when their career goals are not tied to academia.

How does the study propose integrating research skills outside research methods courses?

It supports embedding research skill development into discipline-specific courses via assignments that require reasoning, designing information collection procedures, and collecting, analyzing, interpreting, synthesizing, and evaluating data.

What did participants focus on during the Cracker Barrel session?

Participants discussed central teaching ideas and generated recommendations that were grouped into two themes: specific classroom strategies and building a research ethos among students and faculty.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by awa