Research Methods in Psychology (Taught)

The MSc in Research Methods in Psychology is designed to train students wishing to pursue a higher research degree in psychology and equips them with the specific skills necessary for undertaking a career as a research psychologist.

The MSc in Research Methods in Psychology is a full-time taught postgraduate programme run by the School of Psychology and Neuroscience. The course is based on an initiative to provide interdisciplinary training in the social sciences plus advanced research training in psychology.

Highlights

• The course provides interdisciplinary training in the social sciences plus advanced research training in psychology.

• Students have access to laboratories in neurophysiology, psychopharmacology, psychophysics, animal learning and cognition, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology and social psychology.

• The MSc is recognised by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as an accredited course.

The modules listed here are indicative, and there is no guarantee they will run for 2023 entry.

Compulsory modules

• Generic Research and Professional Skills in Psychology: introduces students to the various skills and issues that are important to academic psychologists irrespective of their particular area of research.
• Methods of Data Analysis in Psychology: advanced training in research design, statistics, qualitative methods and modelling.
• Philosophy and Methodology of the Social Sciences: introduces students to the basic theoretical approaches in the social sciences, covering the methodological and epistemological issues involved in conducting social scientific research.
• Qualitative Methods in Social Research: offers both a theoretical and practical introduction to the collection, analysis and writing of qualitative social science research.
• Quantitative Research in Social Science: provides an introduction to the fundamental concepts of quantitative analysis - underlying principles, research design, sampling strategies, uncertainty and missing data, and some statistical approaches to data analysis.

Optional Modules

Students must choose two optional modules.

• Animal Models in Psychology and Neuroscience
• Being a social scientist
• Communicating Psychology and Neuroscience
• Computer-aided Research
• Data Science for Psychology & Neuroscience
• Mechanisms of Behaviour: Integrating Psychological and Neuroscience Perspectives
• Methodologies for Psychology and Neuroscience
• Research Methods in Cognitive Neuroscience
  -The Impact of Science

Dissertation
Student dissertations will be supervised by members of the teaching staff who will advise on the choice of subject and provide guidance throughout the research process. The completed dissertation of not more than 15,000 words must be submitted by a date specified in August.

Further information is available via the "Course contact details" section at the bottom of this webpage.

Assessment comprises entirely of coursework; there are no exams.