This paper discusses approaches for framing social research methods within postgraduate design curricula, details the responses of postgraduate design students to the possibilities presented by social research methods, and concludes with a case study of the adoption experiences of PhD students in design when engaging with social research methods. Analysis of semi-structured interviews is employed to draw out perceptions and experiences of design postgraduates when engaging with social research methods. The relationship between design and social research methods is explored and the potential association to postgraduate design curricula considered. The research draws upon discourse within design (such as Krippendorff (1995), Durling (2002), and Poggenpohl (2009)) to enliven the debate surrounding the need for designers to engage in a meaningful way with research methods beyond the design domain while placing design at the centre of this debate.