MSc Social Research Methods

Entry standards

Usually a UK First or Upper Second class honours degree or equivalent in a social science or related subject. Entry is also open to professionally trained non-graduates with relevant experience and qualifications.

We also require evidence of basic numeracy (a GCSE pass at grade C or above in maths).

English language requirements

Non-native speakers of English without a first degree taught in English will normally be required to have IELTS 7.0 or above, with a minimum of 6.0 in each component (or equivalent).

Please note that the University of Surrey offers English language programmes and is also an IELTS Test Centre.

MSc Social Research Methods - structure and modules

Module Titles

Core Modules 

• Data Analysis 
• Field Methods 
• Theory and Methodology 
• Statistical Modelling 
• Principles of Survey Design 
• Documentary Analysis and Online Research 
• Research: From Design to Dissemination  
• Evaluation Research
• Workshops in Advanced Methods
• Dissertation 

Core Modules 

Data Analysis 

The aim of this module is to provide you with a grounding in the basic principles of data analysis and statistical methods and to familiarise you with the use and capabilities of the statistical package SPSS for Windows. 

Field Methods 

This module aims to provide you with a firm methodological basis for conducting various forms of qualitative analysis. Principal data sources are observational fieldnotes, interview transcripts and video. 

Theory and Methodology 

This module aims to provide you with an understanding of the importance of conceptual and theoretical issues in social research and some of the philosophical concepts and assumptions that underpin the practice of research.

Statistical Modelling 

This module provides an introduction to the core ideas and principles of statistical modelling and multivariate data, with particular reference to factor analysis, logistic regression and log-linear modelling. 

Principles of Survey Design 

This module will provide you with an outline of the main issues in contemporary social research methodology, with a particular focus on the design and conduct of large-scale surveys. 

Documentary Analysis and Online Research 

This module provides an overview of the techniques used to analyse written, visual and oral documents, and examines methodological innovations in relation to the Internet.

Research: From Design to Dissemination  

This module aims to develop students’ research skills through the design and conduct of a small-scale collaborative research project. The practical experience on the project is supported through specific training in research-based skills and professional development. Through taking this module students will come to understand the practices and procedures involved in initiating, managing and disseminating a research project.

Evaluation Research

This module covers the theoretical, methodological and practical aspects of evaluative research. Emphasis is placed upon the major research methods employed by evaluators to determine the impact of social programmes and evaluate the effectiveness of planned change.

Workshops in Advanced Methods

This unassessed series of workshops and lectures introduces students to a range of innovative and advanced research methods. These provide an opportunity to gain an appreciation of developments in methods for collecting and analysing data, reflect on the pragmatics of their use, and gain some hands-on experience of the techniques involved. Topics may include: data management using qualitative software; focus groups; geographic information systems; random control trials in social research; introduction to Stata; latent variables/structural equation models; multilevel modelling; event history modelling; and longitudinal data analysis.

Dissertation 

You will complete a report of not more than 15,000 words based on your own original empirical research. 

MSc Social Research Methods full-time

Classes are held on Tuesdays and Fridays

MSc Social Research Methods part-time

Classes are held on Fridays in Year 1 and on Tuesdays in Year 2

MSc Social Research Methods - entry standards

Entry standards

Usually a UK First or Upper Second class honours degree or equivalent in a social science or related subject. Entry is also open to professionally trained non-graduates with relevant experience and qualifications.

We also require evidence of basic numeracy (a GCSE pass at grade C or above in maths).

English language requirements

Non-native speakers of English without a first degree taught in English will normally be required to have IELTS 7.0 or above, with a minimum of 6.0 in each component (or equivalent).

Please note that the University of Surrey offers English language programmes and is also an IELTS Test Centre.

Planned intake

Up to 20

Start date

September

Programme director

• Dr Jane Fielding

MSc Social Research Methods - fees and funding

Fees

Social Research Methods (full time):

UK/EU - £4,910 
Overseas - £12,235

Social Research Methods (part time):

UK/EU - £2,640 
Overseas - £6,300

www.surrey.ac.uk/pgfees/2012

Funding

 See the departmental website for current opportunities.

Funding opportunities

Funding Opportunities

The Department of Sociology has a strong track record of attracting ESRC funding for PhD students. The Department of Sociology manages the ESRC-funded South East Doctoral Training Consortium which offers doctoral training in association with the Universities of Kent, Reading and Royal Holloway. The MSc Social Research Methods can comprise the training component of a 1+3 PhD studentship in Sociology within the Doctoral Training Consortium. Opportunities to apply for ESRC doctoral funding via the Doctoral Training Consortium will be advertised annually on the departmental website.

University Research Studentships and Overseas Research Support Studentships will also be advertised on the departmental website as they become available, as will studentships linked to ESRC or EU-funded departmental research projects.

Bursaries for 2012/13 entry

One bursary may be available for each of the Department’s MSc courses, to be awarded on a competitive basis to self-funding students accepting an offer of a place on the MSc for the academic year 2012/13. Bursaries will be paid in the form of a partial fee remission. Bursaries and deadlines for 2012/13 will be advertised on the departmental website.

MSc Social Research Methods - professional context

Professional placements

On the MSc Social Research Methods, we offer the opportunity to take a four-week research placement during the Easter vacation. This will provide you with first-hand experience of large-scale and real-life research in action. In the past placements have been with organisations such as the National Centre for Social Research, the ESRC Data Archive, the Policy Studies Institute, the Home Office, the Institute for Employment Studies, MORI, the British Market Research Bureau, the National Children’s Bureau, the Centre for Longitudinal Studies, National Foundation for Educational Research, ONS, Surrey Police and so on. 

Where a long placement is not practical, as may be the case for part-time students, it is also possible to take up the opportunity of a short work placement of two to four weeks, usually during the summer period. Placements are arranged with the help of the Department’s placement tutor.

MSc Social Research Methods - teaching

Teaching

A variety of teaching methods is used. In addition to formal lectures, you will participate in workshops and undertake individual practical assignments. You will have full access to University and departmental facilities and resources, including a well-equipped computer laboratory with a wide range of statistical packages and qualitative data analysis software.

Contact hours

211 hours

Part-time students attend on one day per week during the teaching semester.

Staff perspective

Dr Christine Hine

I enjoy the atmosphere of innovation in research methods that the Department fosters. I have been impressed by ground-breaking work that my colleagues have done in fields such as computer-assisted qualitative data analysis, social simulation, mixed methods and video-mediated interviewing.

This isn’t just innovation for the sake of it – it’s targeted at taking account of new kinds of data and new situations in the name of the enduring goals of social research.

New techniques supplement our repertoire but established methodological principles still apply. I feel it’s really important that our Masters degree ties innovative methods into a sound basis of traditional approaches.

The Department has been offering formal training in research methods for over 30 years, and former students are spread far and wide in diverse nonprofit and commercial research organisations and in central and local government.

Many of our MSc students go on to further research through PhDs and then on to academic careers of their own. It’s always a pleasure to come across alumni, and to find that they’re still using things that they learnt here and recommending their own employees and students to come on the programme.

MSc Social Research Methods - learning

MSc Social Research Methods - graduate profile

Student Profile: Zoe Slade

MSc Social Research Methods

I currently work for TNS-BMRB in the qualitative unit of the business. I found that the one-month work placement which was part of the course was really helpful for my career. I had heard about BMRB and knew that they were a good company to work for, so I applied to work there for the one month placement. I got a really good insight into how research was applied in a practical situation and was able to take part and view all stages of a research project. It also allowed me to build up good relationships with the people who worked there, prove I was hard-working and could do the job. A full-time position was advertised six months later and I applied and got the job.

I found the course really helpful. Even though I knew I wanted to go into qualitative research, it was really beneficial to have a module on statistical modelling and know how to use SPSS. When we work with the quantitative unit on joint projects, it is helpful to be able to understand SPSS outputs and know what methods were used to generate the findings.

Qualitative research positions are quite competitive so having skills and knowledge at Masters level is a huge asset to anyone who wants to go into this line of research.

MSc Social Research Methods - more

Programme Aims 

The aim of this degree is not just to train you in the application of specific research techniques. It also aims to illuminate the connections between sociological theory and empirical research, and to relate research to the development of public policy and the analysis of substantive social issues. 

Wider issues of the social research process are also covered. These include the planning and management of research projects, research ethics and the presentation and publication of research findings. 

The programme aims to: 

• Provide training across a range of technical and practical social research skills 
• Equip you with a good understanding of the contribution that quantitative and qualitative approaches make to the collection, interpretation and analysis of data 
• Encourage you to reflect critically on methodological, theoretical, philosophical and ethical aspects of social research practice 
• Develop an understanding of the contribution that social research makes to social policy formation and the evaluation of planned social interventions
• Provide you with the opportunity to complete a piece of research, in the form of a dissertation, on a topic in which you have a professional interest

Residential Conference and Day Conference 

The MSc Social Research Methods includes a residential conference in Bournemouth, usually in November. The conference provides an opportunity for discussion in an informal atmosphere, around current research issues and debates, technologies and methods at the forefront of social research.

 
The programme includes lectures from guest speakers, seminars, workshops and small group discussions. The Department also organises a day conference for MSc students at the University, with student presentations and guest speakers. 

Department of Sociology 

The Department is a leading centre of applied social research and methodological innovation, with an international reputation for excellence in both research and teaching. In the 2008 RAE we were ranked joint sixth out of all the sociology departments in the UK. This reflects our excellence in research and publications, and the high quality of our research environment. The Department of Sociology was voted second for sociology in The Times Good University Guide 2010, reflecting our commitment to high-quality teaching and research.

Sociology Research 

The Department of Sociology is internationally recognised as a centre of research excellence. A particular area of strength is research methodology and research training. Our research is organised into five groupings which reflect contemporary concerns: 

• Age, Generation and Everyday Life 
• Criminology and Criminal Justice 
• Culture, Identity and Communication 
• Developments in Methodology 
• Science, Environment and Technology 

In addition to the research groups, members of staff undertake a wide variety of internationally renowned individual scholarship including work on gender, employment, organisations, cross-national survey work, culture, ethnicity, language and communication, sociological theory, childhood, youth and identities, sociology of sleep and the sociology of social policy.

 Three leading journals are edited from the Department: 

• Ethnic and Racial Studies 
• Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation (JASSS) 
• Popular Communication: International Journal of Media and Culture 

The online journal, Sociological Research Online, has been produced from the Department of Sociology since 1996, run by a consortium of partners including the University of Surrey.

The Department’s commitment to developing technical competence in research methods, and encouraging the use of appropriate information and communication technologies in social research, is reflected in the fact that it houses the UK national centre for software for qualitative data analysis (CAQDAS) and hosted the Question Bank, an Internet resource for survey researchers. The Centre for Research on Simulation in the Social Sciences (CRESS) is applying computer simulation to the understanding of social phenomena.

The Department’s Institute of Social Research runs a successful international fellowship scheme which enables international researchers to visit Surrey each year. The Department has also been awarded two ESRC grants to operate nodes of the Economic and Social Research Council’s National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM). 

These strengths in research, and in innovative research methods in particular, feed into our Masters-level teaching and inform the continued updating of content within modules. A further departmental research centre, CRAG (the Centre for Research on Ageing and Gender) brings together social scientific expertise to conduct policy-relevant research on gender and ageing. There are also strong research links between members of the  Department of Sociology and the Digital World Research Centre.

MSc Social Research Methods - apply

• MSc Social Research Methods - Full-time - starting September 2012
• MSc Social Research Methods – Part-time - starting September 2012