MSc Social Research

Institution University of Edinburgh
Method At the institution
Location Edinburgh
Type Masters
Course fee By request

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MSc Social Research

Academic title MSc Social Research
Course description The course will equip you with the necessary knowledge and skills to be able to conduct social research of a high standard that would be of value to the public, policy makers and professionals, as well as to the academic community.

The programme offers an advanced understanding of the key issues in, approaches to, and techniques of research in the social sciences.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course students will understand many of the key philosophical and theoretical debates in social-scientific research, as well as mastering a number of methodological skills and approaches to data collection and analysis.

How You Will Be Taught

Students take three compulsory and three optional courses in research methodology, theory and philosophy in the Social Sciences offered within the Graduate School of Social and Political Studies. Students may substitute an optional course with one from any subject area within the School or possibly outwith the School by agreement.

Assessment is through coursework, followed by a supervised 15,000-word dissertation. Students can opt to undertake their dissertations within the context of a placement. Current placement options include The Scottish Government, Scotcen and The Wise Group.

All candidates will take six semester-length courses (or their equivalent). These normally consist of 3 compulsory courses.
Core Courses

    * Research Skills in the Social Sciences: Data Collection
    * Core Quantitative Data Analysis for Social Research
    * Research Design

and three further courses selected from the following skills courses and a range of substantive courses from across the social sciences. The availability of courses can vary from year to year.
Sample Options

    * Explanation and understanding in social and political research
    * Philosophy of the Social Sciences
    * Ethical and Political issues in Social Research
    * Intermediate inferential statistics: testing and modelling
    * Advanced Quantitative Methods in Social Science
    * Contemporary social theory
    * Qualitative Methods: Ethnographic Fieldwork
    * Reflexivity in qualitative research
    * Survey Methods and Data
    * Approaches to Analysing Text, Discourse and Narrative
    * Listening to children: research and consultation
    * Key issues in law and society research
    * Qualitative approaches to the city
    * Methodological debates in society and space

Candidates will be required to show that their optional courses reflect an appropriate breadth of interest. With the agreement of the degree convener, students may substitute one of their optional courses with one taken from the doctoral programme of any subject area within the School of Social and Political Studies and potentially further Schools within the University.
Dissertation and Placement Based Dissertation

The dissertation represents a chance to get to grips with a topic of the student's own choosing, supervised by an appropriate member of academic staff. Previous dissertation topics have included:

    * The Political Participation and Mobilisation of Refugees in Glasgow
    * The Greek-Muslims of Rhodes: Aspects of their co-existence with the Greeks
    * What Happens After 'Hello'? A Study of the Long-Term Effect of Contact(s) and Meeting(s) Between Adult Adoptees and their Birth Relatives

Candidates who reach a satisfactory standard in the taught courses may proceed from the diploma to an MSc, by undertaking the dissertation, defined as supervised project on an approved topic, and by submitting their dissertation of approximately 15,000 words by the date in August specified in Regulation 5.1.15. An oral examination may be required.

There is a dual dissertation option. Students have the option of either a) the standard dissertation or b) a dissertation carried out in a workplace for that specific purpose. The aim of the placement-based dissertation is to provide students with the opportunity to work on their dissertation within the context of a workplace of their choosing, which could be within a public sector, a voluntary, a charitable or a private organisation, subject to the approval of the Programme Director.