Generative AI is everywhere. Using it well in research – transparently, reliably, and in service of real questions – is a different skill entirely. That’s the gap the Learning and Performance Research Center (LPRC) in Washington State University’s College of Education, Sport, and Human Sciences set out to close with its 13th annual Methods Workshop.
Hands-on training from someone doing the work
This year’s workshop went well past introductory AI literacy. Christopher Runyon of the National Board of Medical Examiners, who applies these tools in high-stakes assessment work, led participants through integrating generative AI directly into R (an opensource programming language built for statistical analysis) workflows. Sessions covered prompt engineering, application programming interfaces (APIs), chained processes, agentic systems, and Shiny application development. The focus throughout was practical: what it takes to build AI into research and analytics in a way that holds up.
The room reflected how widely that need is felt. Participants came from multiple colleges and offices across WSU, including the Office of Institutional Research, along with faculty and graduate students from the University of Washington. Building methodological capacity for AI-assisted research is a challenge no single department or campus can meet alone, and the workshop brought those communities together to take it on.
Technology in service of people
The workshop was built on a clear principle: effective use of AI takes more than access to a chatbot. Researchers need workflows that are reliable, revisable, transparent, and aligned with human purposes. That principle connects directly to the university’s commitment to accessible, responsible, and human-centered innovation.
Learning from a practitioner at the National Board of Medical Examiners gave participants a direct view of how AI is already shaping decisions in institutional and research settings where accuracy matters. They left prepared not just to understand these tools, but to use them with the judgment those settings demand.
Dr. Runyon did a fantastic job displaying how helpful of a tool AI can be for R workflows while also emphasizing that generative AI is simply predicting text, not judging or evaluating the truth.
Lexi Downey, Educational Psychology and Methodology Doctoral Student
Capacity that lasts
Over 13 years, the LPRC Methods Workshop has become a foundation of methodological development at WSU. Each year builds on the last, growing a community of researchers who can engage critically and competently with emerging analytical tools.
This year’s turn toward generative AI was a natural next step. As AI changes how institutions make decisions, how researchers analyze data, and how educators design learning, the researchers and partners who took part are now better equipped to help lead that change – carrying what they learned back to their own classrooms, offices, and research teams.
For more information on Methods Workshops and LPRC, contact Brian French, Director of LPRC at frenchb@wsu.edu.