The research methodology requires two components: literature review and precedent study. The literature review requires gathering relevant data from the specified documents and compiling databases in order to analyze the material and arrive at a more complete understanding of the various topics. These various topics were the new trends that colleges are going through and should be considered when regarding their dorm design. The three main trends are: creating a safe space, ensuring health and wellness, and creating a work-life balance. Through each of these are sub categories where the literature review was based on. For creating a safe space, the topics are gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, and race. For health and wellness, the topics are nutrition, exercise, allergies, and toxicity. Lastly, for work-life balance, there are productivity, leisure time, and support through living-learning communities. All of this information comes from journal articles accessed from the UB library and Google Scholar.

The precedent study will consist of three different kinds of precedents. The first is, through site visits and research, the facilities of local colleges in the Buffalo area will be analyzed. Each campus that offers freshman housing has its own different room styles and amenities. A preliminary analysis will be done comparing and contrasting the schools housing features. The first thing to check is to see how many out of the 9 schools in Buffalo actually offer housing. Another thing looked upon are the kind of rooms the schools offer. Usually this differs between traditional or suite style dorms. Also, the amenities in these Buffalo schools will be looked into. These amenities are: a fitness center, a dining hall in or connected to the residence hall and if not, one nearby, a kitchenette, a laundry room, lounges, a business center, and a convenience store. The second kind of precedent study are good examples of residential design. There are exceptional residential facilities that are recognized by the architectural community. The last kind of precedent study are looking at issue based dormitories, meaning looking at dormitories that are mentioned within the articles in the literature study.