Research Methods

MSc

Increasingly, universities and funding bodies are seeing research methods training as an important preliminary to PhD and other doctoral level study. In addition, a thorough grounding in research methodologies and transferable research skills will offer you an important trajectory and preparation for research-oriented employment as well as further advancement throughout your career.

Campus Riverside
Course MSc
Length 1 Year Full time (up to 6 years Part-time)
Start date September 2012

Our MSc in Research Methods offers you innovative research training in the splendid surroundings of our Riverside Campus and Man Chester Campus. The course provides a unique learning opportunity for you to engage with a wide range of research methodologies, key concepts and theories and professional skills in research training, to promote intellectual development and further aid your employability.

Our programme draws upon the expertise of a multidisciplinary team of research-active academics, from education and social science, health and social care and clinical and biological sciences. The MSc is designed to support beginner and intermediate researchers and can be taken as an independent Masters' award or serve as a preparation for doctoral level studies.

The taught programme combines academic rigor with creativity, offering a broad range of modules in research skills and methodologies leading to a research project allowing for the development of key concepts and theories in practice.

Next: Modules

Structure, Modules and Indicative Content

Our Msc Research Methods comprises six taught modules of 20 credits and a dissertation module of 60 credits.

The taught module titles are as follows:

  • Philosophy, Theory and Practice of Research*
  • Introduction to Qualitative Research*
  • Information Retrieval, Appraisal and Synthesis for Research*
  • Introduction to Quantitative Research**
  • Advanced Qualitative Research **
  • Advanced Quantitative Research**

These modules address a broad and diverse range of themes and approaches including ethnography and case study, feminist theory and methodology, critical race theory and post-structuralism, quantitative research design, questionnaires and advanced statistics.

If you are a part time student you will take the modules marked * in Year 1 and the modules marked ** in Year 2.

Next: Assessment

You will engage with a variety of learning pedagogies including lectures, seminars, group work, presentations, one-to-one sessions with tutors and guided peer review. 

You will be assessed through a series of course assignments of 4,000 - 5,500 words in length, or the equivalent in level of effort, and by linking written work with individual presentations and empirical fieldwork, process and analysis.  Our programme thus employs an integrated approach to assessment as a means to examine a variety of skills and intellectual abilities.

Next: Careers

Our MSc framework provides an opportunity for intellectual advancement and career progression through an experience combining high-level  critical thinking with relevant transferable research skills.  The MSc provides opportunities to deepen your knowledge and understanding of key concepts and theories underpinning contemporary social-science research.  Through intensive education and training you will acquire not only the relevant knowledge and understanding of the key conceptual frames and technical procedures underpinning social research and also benefit more widely from generic research training through engagement with researchers - which is crucial to an academic research career.

Next: Entry requirements

Entry requirements are as follows:

  • Good Honours degree at 2:2 or above in an appropriate area.
  • International students should demonstrate suitable writing and speaking skills in English, for example IELTS 6.5 or  above.
  • Candidates with relevant experience who can demonstrate knowledge and skills to degree standard will be carefully considered.
Beginning: Overview

Useful links

Who to contact

  • For admission enquiries

    Postgraduate Admissions

    University of Chester

    Parkgate Road

    Chester

    CH1 4BJ

    T:
    01244 512456
    postgrad@chester.ac.uk

  • For enquiries about course content

    Dean Garratt, Reader
    T:
    01244 512747
    d.garratt@chester.ac.uk