Social Research (Taught)

The MSc Social Research is an advanced degree in social scientific methodology and is recognised by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as a research training degree.

• It is suitable for those who wish to prepare for PhD research, as well as those seeking to increase key employability skills in qualitative fieldwork, quantitative data management, and data analytics.

• As a student on this programme, you’ll draw upon a wide variety of expertise from within the Centre for Urban and Community Research, the Methods Lab, and the Department of Sociology more widely which has been rated top 20 in the UK in the QS World University Rankings 2025.

• Based in London in an incredibly culturally diverse area, you will have direct access to one of the most stimulating fieldwork areas through which experience will be acquired conducting ‘live sociology’. This experience combined with undertaking a rigorous curriculum means that upon successful completion of the MSc all students will be proficient in preparing, designing, undertaking, and presenting advanced level social research suitable for all types of audiences.

• Throughout the degree you will undertake rigorous training in both qualitative and quantitative research designs and techniques.

Key research techniques covered include:

• Conducting interviews

• Ethnographic research

• Discourse analysis

• Visual sociology

• Computer-assisted qualitative data analysis

• Working with quantitative comparative data

• Multiple regression analysis

• Multi-level modelling

• Longitudinal modelling

• Structural Equation Modelling

• Latent Class Analysis

Thinking Ahead

• We encourage students to use their MSc degree as a platform for PhD level research. Goldsmiths is part of the of the South East Network for Social Sciences (SeNSS) through which students can apply for fully-funded ESRC PhD studentships.

• For those looking to refine particular research skills to better understand groups and audiences, staff on the programme have many years’ experience working with charities, government agencies, and private sector companies, and can advise on research techniques and further training courses to fit bespoke needs.