Psychology MRes

This module will introduce students to the issues that surround the successful management and completion of research projects in professional and applied settings. The course will focus on two core strands. Firstly ethical and professional standards will be examined in detail. The course will then focus on the practical issues and skills surrounding research projects, their development and their management. An emphasis on applied research, and on research with different populations, will be made during the course. 

This module supports students in completing their MRes dissertation projects mainly through expert one-to-one supervision, alongside taught workshop sessions relating to the project completion timeline and the assessments. Examples of session topics include literature searching and developing a research idea, presentation skill development, writing a detailed research proposal, ethics and health & safety, Open Research practices, writing an MRes research report, and writing a critical skills reflection. The module aims to provide the student with an opportunity to investigate systematically and in depth a topic of direct relevance to Psychology and their personal interests, enable the student to draw on and contribute to the development of the growing body of knowledge in the field of Psychology, present the outcomes of their research in the form of a written dissertation of publishable quality, and be able to articulate and discuss the findings in an oral examination.

This module introduces you to the essentials of psychological research, and includes an introduction to qualitative methods and quantitative methods, including questionnaire / survey and experimental research methods. Overviews of qualitative methodologies are given covering both data acquisition (e.g. interview, focus group, photo elicitation) and major analysis techniques (e.g. discourse analysis, interpretative phenomenological analysis, etc.). Thematic or content analysis is covered in more detail.

The module also introduces quantitative designs (e.g. surveys and experimental studies) and key analytical techniques. Laboratory exercises provide you with hands-on activities and include training in the use of statistical software packages (e.g. SPSS). The module introduces you to the nature and philosophy of the experimental method, the design and execution of psychological experiments, descriptive statistics, frequentist and Bayesian inferential parametric and non-parametric statistical procedures (e.g. chi-square, t-tests, (factorial) ANOVA, correlation, regression, and allied analyses). The module covers the replication crisis and potential remedies.

You receive guidance on the production of qualitative and quantitative research reports.

The module introduces students to the nature and philosophy of applied psychology, reinforcing evidence-based critical thinking. The module reminds students about the essentials of psychological research, including brief refreshers on the basics of qualitative and quantitative approaches. Students are encouraged to develop a critical understanding of applied psychological methods (e.g. observational studies, interviews, single case studies, and experimental methods). 

The module also considers quantitative experimental and correlational methods and introduces appropriate analytical techniques for both. Workshops provide students with hands-on activities and will include training in the use of statistical software packages (e.g. SPSS) to supplement the training students will have gained during their undergraduate work. Students will be expected to demonstrate the ability to conduct and understand the output of a range of analyses, both descriptive and inferential (e.g. Generalised Linear Model, Structural Equation Modelling, Exploratory Factor Analysis). Taught sessions will provide students with the opportunity to critically evaluate research designs and assess the quality of evidence for different aspects of applied psychology practice. A practical overview of realist qualitative methodologies is given (e.g. interviews, content analysis, thematic analysis). Students are expected to explore at least one qualitative approach in detail.

Students will receive guidance on the appropriate communication of qualitative and quantitative analysis.