The Applied Research Division (ARD) of the Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN) is located on the campus of The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Funding for the Institute is provided from the United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service (USDA, FNS), through the University of Mississippi. ARD's mission is to conduct and disseminate high quality, credible, applied, operational research that is responsive to the needs of Child Nutrition (CN) professionals. ARD defines applied research as providing practical, timely solutions to real-world issues by collecting data from functional CN Programs and active CN professionals. This article describes the multiple methodologies (qualitative and quantitative) employed by ARD and touches upon six projects ARD currently has underway.