Social Research Methods and Statistics

Entry requirements

We require a UK bachelor's degree with a First or Upper Second classification or the overseas equivalent, in any discipline.

When assessing your academic record we consider your degree subject, grades you have achieved and the standing of the institution where you studied your qualification.

Months of entry

September

Course content

The MSc in Social Research Methods and Statistics is designed to be accessible to non-statisticians, yet is more focused than many other existing master's courses in social research methods.

The MSc includes training in:

• survey design;
• statistics;
• how to analyse data;
• how to use statistical analysis software such as R, SPSS and Stata.

The MSc modules are taught with an emphasis on hands-on training in the application of methods and software.

Modules include:

• Statistical Foundations;
• Introduction to Statistical Modelling;
• Survey Research;
• Demographic Analysis;
• Social Network Analysis;
• Longitudinal Data Analysis.

You will need a base level of knowledge in undergraduate research methods, which you will build on throughout the course, to gain comprehensive statistical and analytical skills. A series of pre-sessional training materials are available prior to the MSc start date.

Research activities within the discipline area are both methodological and substantive. We focus on a range of subject areas including social inequalities, population dynamics and survey methodology.

The course is recognised by both the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the North West Doctoral Training Centre, where we receive a large number of Advanced Quantitative methods (AQM) and CASE awards each year.

We develop future social scientists who will have a thorough grounding in research and are equipped with the tools for collecting and analysing statistical data.