While there is a scattered literature base on teaching research methods courses, there is very little literature that speaks to what and how students learn in research methods courses. Students are often described as coming to the course not seeing its relevance, bringing negative attitudes and low motivation with them. The purpose of this exploratory mixed methods study was to investigate graduate student attitudes toward research, expectations of an introductory research methods course, and any relationship between the two. A total of 117 students completed the Attitudes Toward Research scale and a series of open-ended questions. Results indicate these graduate students actually came in with moderate to high positive attitudes toward research and mixed expectations about what the course would entail. Students expected research methods to be difficult, but they did not report much anxiety related to research. Implications for teaching and future research are discussed.