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Research Methodology, Graduate Minor

Saint Louis University offers a graduate minor in research methodology designed to provide students with a background in advanced analysis and methods.

Administered through Saint Louis University's Department of Sociology and Anthropology, the minor is open to all students and can be tailored to meet students’ own disciplinary program needs.

Elements of the minor are developed by consensus between students, their advisor/mentor and the graduate director in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology.

Curriculum Overview

SLU's graduate minor in research methodology consists of (with prerequisites) five courses: a basic, quantitative statistics/analysis course; two advanced quantitative analysis courses; and two advanced research methodology courses.

Students may petition to include additional courses by submitting a copy of the syllabus for such courses. Upon approval, these courses can also be included in the minor. At least 80% of the courses included in the minor must be taken at Saint Louis University and all courses must be graded courses; no pass/fail or satisfactory/unsatisfactory coursework will be accepted.

Admission Requirements

To be admitted to this minor program, students must be seeking a degree in a Saint Louis University graduate program. They must have taken a general research methodology course prior to admission to the minor. This must be a basic introductory course that provides an overview of all major forms of research methodology and design. This prerequisite serves as a foundation for all other courses taken in this minor.

To add the research methodology minor, contact the coordinator of the graduate research methodology minor. A petition to amend the graduate program along with an academic plan for the minor must be completed and submitted to the associate graduate dean/director of the college, school or center appropriate for the student. Upon completion of the minor requirements, it will be noted as a “Minor in Research Methodology” on the academic transcript.

Students are encouraged to discuss the possibilities of the minor with their advisor/mentor, or they can contact the graduate director in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, allowing them to build a minor that is best suited for their own needs and the goals of their major program. 

The research methodology minor is administered through SLU's College of Arts and Sciences. It is composed of at least 15 credits that include a basic statistical analysis course, two courses in advanced methodology and two courses in advanced analysis.

Courses that fulfill these categories come from a wide variety of departments across the University.†

  • Cluster I: Core course. All students must take an introductory inferential statistics course.
Choose one of the following courses to meet the basic statistical analysis course requirement.3
BST 5020
Theory of Biostatistics
CAD 5050
Introduction to Statistical Inference
EDR 5100
Intro to Inferential Stats: Ed
NURS 6805
Introduction to Applied Statistics for Healthcare Research
ORES 5010
Introduction to Biostatistics for Health Outcomes
PSY 5790
Applied Univariate Statistics in Behavioral Science
SOC 5015
Quantitative Research Methods
  • Cluster II: Advanced methodology and design courses. A student would select at least two courses from this cluster.
Choose any two courses from this list to meet the advanced methodology requirement.6
BST 5400
Applied Data Management
BST 5420
Sampling Theory and Survey Design in Public Health
CMM 5810
Digital Storytelling
CMM 5820
Advanced Research Methods
EDR 5500
Evaluation of Education Programs
EDR 6150
Single Subject Experimental Research Design
EDR 6400
Advanced Qual Research for Ed
GIS 5010
Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
MFT 6140
Interpretive Phenomenology
NURS 6809
Quantitative Methods in Nursing Research
ORES 5160
Data Management
ORES 5410
Evaluation Sciences
ORES 5260
Pharmacoepidemiology
ORES 5440
Comparative Effectiveness Research
ORLD 5020
Applied Research Methods
SLHS 5050
Research for the Clinician
SOC 5530
Urban Ethnography
SOC 5650
Principles and Methods of GIScience
SOC 5750
Qualitative Analysis, Grounded Theory Method
SOC 5800
Survey Design & Sampling
SOC 5850
Policy Evaluation and Assessment
SWRK 5774
Measurement & Experimental Design
WGST 5050
Program Evaluation

GIS 5010 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems and SOC 5650 Principles and Methods of GIScience are the same course. Only one of these can count toward this requirement.

  • Cluster III: Advanced statistics/analysis courses. A student would select at least two courses from this cluster.
Choose any two courses from this list to meet the advanced analysis requirement.6
BIOL 5780
Molecular Phylogenetic Analysis
BST 5100
Introduction to General Linear Modeling
BST 5200
Survival Data Analysis
BST 5210
Categorical Data Analysis
BST 5220
Multilevel and Longitudinal Data Analysis
BST 5230
Bayesian Statistics
BST 6100
Causal Inference
BIOL 5190
Geographic Information Systems in Biology
EDR 6060
Research Design and Analysis
EDR 6100
Intermediate Applied Statistics for Education
EDR 6500
Multilevel Regression Models
HDS 5320
Inferential Modeling
NURS 6802
Measurement of Nursing Variables
ORES 5150
Multivariate Analysis for Health Outcomes Research
ORES 5400
Pharmacoeconomics
ORES 5430
Health Outcomes Measurement
ORLD 5030
Applied Analytics
PSY 6500
Applied Multivariable and Multivariate Statistics in Behavioral Science
PSY 6600
Structural Equations Modeling
SOC 5640
Demographic Methods, Analysis, and Public Policy
SOC 5670
Spatial Demography – Applied Spatial Statistics
SOC 6100
Regression Analysis & Non-linear Models
SWRK 6030
Multivariate Data Analysis

While 15 credits are required, students may take more courses and get credit for them. In order for the minor to be listed on an official University transcript, students must complete the Petition to Amend the Graduate Program.

Substitutions of coursework can only be made with the prior approval of the student's mentor and the coordinator of the research methodology minor program.

Continuation Standards

Students must maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 in all graduate/professional courses.

For more information about the research methodology minor, please contact:

Hisako Matsuo, Ph.D.
Professor of Research Methodology and Sociology
Morrissey Hall, 1905
hisako.matsuo@slu.edu
314-977-2536