Applied Social Research Methods (Taught)

This master’s in Applied Social Research Methods will equip you with the practical skills, academic knowledge, and professional attributes necessary to design and deliver research projects from start to finish. At heart, this course will build your capacity, expertise, and confidence in designing and undertaking research from inception to delivery. Our course is underpinned by academic rigour twinned with a commitment to workplace readiness.

Unlike other courses, we dive straight into designing research projects to help inform the tackling of real-world social problems. Using workshop and activity-based learning, you’ll explore how best to recruit participants and work with stakeholders; you’ll try out different methods to explore their pros and cons; you’ll be introduced to project management tools and supported to think critically about the ethical dimensions of research work.

Each session on the course is scaffolded with academic insight and rigour but delivered in a way that inspires discussion, action, and professional growth. Instead of being lectured at for hours, you’ll be progressing your own projects in an interactive environment. Instead of essays, you’ll be writing research proposals in response to a live social problem. Instead of exams, you’ll submit a portfolio of your own work, based on your direct research and methods experience.

You will:

• Develop advanced skills in designing, conducting, analysing, and reporting social research projects, using both qualitative and quantitative methods.

• Gain a deeper understanding of the philosophical and theoretical foundations of social research and how to appraise these.

• Gain a critical understanding of the ethical issues that underpin social research and the ability to reflect on your own positionality and practice as a researcher.

• Learn to critically evaluate existing research and evidence and to communicate your findings effectively to different audiences.

• Be exposed to diverse perspectives and approaches from different disciplines and cultures, and be encouraged to collaborate with other researchers and practitioners.

• Gain the knowledge and practice base necessary for further study at doctoral level