When it comes time to forward a serious argument, most of us incline toward closed-minded laziness. We look for evidence that supports positions that we already hold, and either fail to consider alternatives, or fail to take those alternatives seriously. Unfortunately, since what we produce in this way can't withstand even the mildest criticism or public scrutiny, we have wasted our time. This course on research methods teaches students how, by contrast, to produce a strong and nuanced argument-to treat their own ideas as conditional, and to assess and revise them in accordance with all the materials that count as evidence. We will discuss how to state an appropriate, researchable question and how to determine what counts as an answer to that question. We will also spend time discussing what constitutes valid evidence, how to identify and evaluate alternative explanations for the same event, and how to separate coincidence from cause. Along the way, students will become acquainted with a variety of research techniques, such as interviews, surveys, archival research, case studies and field studies. The course assumes no statistics, nor will it cover statistics; instead, our focus will be on more fundamental issues involved in conceiving and executing a research project in the social sciences. Class will meet 3 times a week and one class will be a lab. Lecture/discussion format. Requirements: weekly papers applying a method or research problem to a topic chosen by the student or class. Prerequisite: junior or senior standing. This course is for juniors and seniors interested in writing a major research paper, and is designed specifically for advanced students doing independent projects, semester-long seminar papers or senior theses. Counts for all subfields.