The Counseling and Student Personnel Psychology program at the University of Minnesota sought to create a graduate-level research experience which would be both instructionally efficient and educationally effective. Important skills to be learned in doing research were identified, including the development of a research question, critical review of research related to the question, design of a research project, data analysis, presentation of results, and drawing appropriate conclusions. Data collection in itself was not felt to be a critical skill. A research simulation which included all critical components was developed. However, a flexible data source was needed which could tailor data to a student's unique research design. Using a data specification form, each student defined the population that would have been sampled had the research been carried out. The student then entered the form into the computer, and an artificial data set was generated by a computer program called "DataBook." Advantages of the simulation over a traditional research experience include: (1) students are required to focus on their variables in a very detailed manner; (2) the quality of statistical analysis is improved; (3) the simulation takes far less time than an actual research project; and (4) it simplifies taking a group of students through the experience together. Appendixes contain a student orientation handout, course syllabus, and a DataBook description and manual. (JDD)