The points of entry of RAND research range from grand strategy to the how-to of making organizations and markets work better. The tools and disciplines are multiple. RAND has anthropologists, area specialists, doctors, economists, engineers, information scientists, mathematicians, operations researchers, physical scientists of many kinds, political analysts, sociologists, and statisticians, to name a few. Most projects involve people from many disciplines , and indeed many people here are multidisciplinary. As you will be if you join the RAND Graduate School.
Most research involves quantitative analysis.
After all, this is the place that helped develop game theory, dynamic programming, simulations, the Internet, linear programming, many tools of data analysis, and large-scale social experiments. RAND work varies so widely that there is no one paradigm. Investigating phenomena that are unknown or unquantified, such as terrorism, gang behavior, or the efficiency of court systems. Tackling issues where a key variable seems impossible to measure, such as the quality of health care or military readiness. Taking on topics where competing interests make a problem seem intractable, such as the agreement on global positioning systems or transportation policy in the Netherlands.