Advanced Research Methods Certificate
1.What is the ARM Certificate?
The ARM Certificate is a graduate-level certificate in Education & Social Sciences Advanced Research Methods (ARM), offered by the College of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University.
2. Who can obtain the ARM Certificate?
• graduate students in all departments in the CEHD
• graduate students in departments outside the CEHD, at Texas A&M University who wish to add to their social science research training
• professionals in the Bryan/College Station community who wish to improve their research skills
3. Does the ARM Certificate appear in my Diploma, upon graduation?
No, not on the diploma. Your official transcripts, however, will contain the information: Certificate in Education & Social Sciences Advanced Research Methods.
4. Do I have to pay to have the Certificate transcripted into my official records?
No, you do not have to pay for transcripting. You will need to pay to enroll in the courses, however.
5. What are the requirements for the ARM Certificate?
• Requirements are outlined in the table, below:
ADVANCED RESEARCH METHODS CERTIFICATE (ARM) 4 Advanced* Quantitative or Qualitative (or mixed methods)
Research Methods Courses*ADVANCED COURSES: Only courses identified as advanced, by the Research Certificate Committee will be eligible for credit (see list below).
12 hours Requirement for Completion: Evidence of submission of a research-based article, for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, as main author or co-author.
Grade Requirement: In order to qualify for the Certificate, only courses for which students earned grades A, B, or S will be counted toward the Certificate.
Total: 12 hours
6. What are the benefits of obtaining the ARM Certificate?
A Graduate Certificate in Education & Social Sciences Advanced Research Methods will allow graduate students in the CEHD to add to their degree's minimum requirements for training in research methodology, and to obtain academic validation for their additional efforts. The Certificate testifies to a student's successful mastery of advanced competencies in education and social sciences research methods, with emphasis on quantitative or qualitative approaches. The Certificate attests to students' competency, and sends the message the student is prepared both to engage in social science research, and to teach these methods, in his/her academic careers. As part of the certificate completion requirements, students will provide evidence of submission of a manuscript for publication as the main author, or as a co-author. Such requirement facilitates students' initiation into the academic publication process, and allows them to become more ‘marketable' in today's competitive hiring practices (especially in the context of Research Universities with Very High Research Activity - RU/VH - the current designation for "research-intensive" universities, proposed by the Carnegie Foundation).
The CEHD Graduate Certificate in Education & Social Sciences Advanced Research Methods will also be offered as a ‘stand alone' program for individuals who possess basic and intermediate research methods training. Prospective students who wish to acquire advanced social sciences and education research skills (due to requirements stemming from their current jobs) would be able to obtain the certificate with an investment of 12 credit hours, as opposed to 32-36 hours required for a Master's degree. The Certificate might represent an attractive option for already-graduated Master's students (from CEHD or other schools/colleges), who wish to enhance or refresh their potentially dated research methods training.
7. What are the procedures to apply for the certificate?
1. Communicate with your dissertation/thesis chair to:
a. Discuss intent to pursue the certificate
b. determine a plan for taking the 12 hours of advanced research methods courses
2. Follow the plan to take the 12 hours of advanced research methods courses.
3. Write and submit research-based journal article for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, prior to completing all course requirements for the ARM certificate (you should be the main author or a co-author).
4. When ALL requirements are complete, or during your final semester, submit the form that documents:
a. Courses taken
b. Submission (and receipt by journal) of article for publication
c. Graduate Chair's approval and signature
d. Department Head's signature
5. Submit a copy of the form AND a copy of the letter (from journal) acknowledging receipt of manuscript to your Graduate Advisor in your department.
6. Graduate advisor requests - by memo sent to the Registrar's Office, through the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the CEHD - that the certificate be transcripted into your official academic transcript, upon graduation.
8. May I apply for the ARM certificate if I have already taken all (or most) of the 12 credits in advanced research methods?
Yes, as long as your chair approves, and the courses you've taken are among those listed as approved for the certificate.
9. May I count the credits I have taken for my degree plan, toward the ARM certificate?
Yes, you may. If your degree plan requires 12 hours of advanced-level research methods courses (from the list of courses approved for the certificate), you may count those hours toward the ARM certificate, too.
10. I've taken advanced-level statistics courses in other departments at TAMU. Can these count toward the 12 hours for ARM?
Maybe: these courses would need to be approved by the Committee overseeing the ARM Certificate in the College of Education and Human Development. Your chair would have to request the committee's approval, before you can count those courses.
11. Do I have to submit a publication as a sole/only author?
No; you may be a co-author on a publication with someone else.
12. Do I have to co-author with my advisor/chair or can I submit an article where I have co-authored with other faculty and/or my student colleagues?
You may submit an article in which you are a co-author with faculty other than your chair or with other students.
13. What kind of journal article is acceptable to fulfill the ARM requirements?
Only research-based articles are valid. While what constitutes research-based reporting may vary across fields, journal articles formatted as commentaries, letters-to-the-editor, teaching tips, or non-systematic reviews of the literature are not eligible to fulfill the ARM journal article submission requirement (systematic literature reviews and meta-analyses do count, however).
14. Can the submitted article come from my thesis or dissertation?
Yes.
15. Can I submit a book chapter instead of a journal article?
No. Only articles submitted to peer-reviewed journals will be accepted.
16. Can the submitted article be a paper I wrote for one of my classes?
Yes, as long as the paper is acceptable to submit for publication. It is unethical to waste journal reviewers' time, if the manuscript has been submitted merely to fulfill the ARM requirement and you didn't "polish" it enough to submit for review.
17. Must the submitted journal article be related to one of the advanced-level research methods courses?
No. The article may be a report of a study you have been conducting, independent of the classes you are taking for the 12-hour ARM requirement.
18. Must the article be accepted by the journal, before I graduate?
No: the requirement is that you provide evidence that an article which you authored or co-authored was submitted to a peer-reviewed journal, and received by the journal's editorial staff. Having the article accepted for publication is not part of the requirement.
