Social Research Methods MSc (PGDip)

Syllabus

The Social Research Methods MSc is formed of three main components: generic core, intermediate and advanced research methodologies and methods; subject-specific and interdisciplinary; and dissertation. Many of the modules take a strong decolonial stance, presenting material that is at the cutting edge of social science debates such as new materialisms, ecopsychology, creative research methods and autoethnographies.

You will be taught in a variety of ways including lectures, seminars, workshops and field trips. The dissertation takes place across the year and allows for a flexible mode of study based on one-to-one supervision sessions.

Core modules

• Principles of Social Research (philosophies of social research including ethics) 
• Social Research Methods (qualitative and quantitative methods)
• Mixed Methods in Social Research 1 and 2 (how to adopt a range of methodologies in research)
• Research Methods in Community Research
• Dissertation on a topic of your choice.

Option modules

• Advanced Research Cultures (including creative methods)
• Advanced quantitative methods – choose from a list of approved modules
• Information Systems, Operations and Process Management
• Managing in an Uncertain Environment
• Managing in the Public and Voluntary Sectors
• Public Administration and Policy Analysis
• Principles of Sport for International Development
• Evidence Building in Sport for Development
• Critical Perspectives in Tourism Management
• Marketing for Tourism, Hospitality and Events
• Destination Management and Planning
• Events: Theory and Practice

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Research

Academic staff in the School of Humanities and Social Science have expertise in a range of research topics and research methodologies. Within the school we work primarily in four research and enterprise groups.

• Care, Health and Emotional Wellbeing 
• Communities and Performance
• Cities, Injustices and Resistance

In addition, researchers work in cross-university Centres of Research and Enterprise Excellence (CORES) including Centre for Transforming Sexuality and Gender, Centre of Resilience for Social Justice, Centre for Digital Cultures and the Centre for Research in Spatial, Environmental and Cultural Politics.

The School of Humanities and Social Science has a vibrant research culture for staff and students working both within and across the disciplines of sociology, psychology, social policy, politics, anthropology and criminology, as well as the practice-based fields of social work, counselling, psychotherapy and substance misuse. Much of our research is undertaken collaboratively with agencies, organisations, groups and individuals, both in the local community and wider society, to ensure that our research has relevance and impact beyond the academy.

Meet the team

Dr Roxana Cavalcanti, course leader

Roxana, pictured, is a critical criminologist, author of the book A Southern Criminology of Violence, Youth and Policing (Routledge), member of the British Society of Criminology and the European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control, co-leader of the Cities Injustices and Resistance research group at the University of Brighton. Her most recent projects focus on the issues of police violence in Brazil and the criminalisation of dissent in Latin America. Her new co-edited book is Southern Perspectives on Policing, Security and Social Order (Bristol University Press). Prior to working at Brighton, she lectured in Criminology and was a research fellow at the Kluge Center, Library of Congress (Washington DC, USA) where she conducted research into recently declassified US government documents about international police assistance. Her research has been funded by the Economic and Social Science Research Council (ESRC), the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the Newton Fund-CONFAP, the British Academy and Brazilian Academy of Sciences. Read Roxana's full profile.

Other staff who teach on the course include:

• Prof Lesley Murray
• Dr Phil Haynes
• Dr Mark Erickson
• Dr Mary Darking
• Dr Rebecca Grist
• Dr Lizzie Ward
• Dr James Ormrod
• Dr Sarah Leaney.

Course fees

Scholarships, bursaries and loans

We offer a range of scholarships for postgraduate students. Bursaries and loans may also be available to you.

Find out more about postgraduate fees and funding.

The fees listed here are for the first year of full-time study if you start your course in the academic year 2023–24.

You will pay fees for each year of your course. Some fees may increase each year.

UK undergraduate and some postgraduate fees are regulated by the UK government and increases will not be more than the maximum amount allowed. Course fees that are not regulated may increase each year by up to 5% or RPI (whichever is higher).

If you are studying part-time your fee will usually be calculated based on the number of modules that you take.

Find out more

• Fees, bursaries, scholarships and government funding info for UK and international undergraduate and postgraduate students
• Student finance and budgeting while studying
• About the university’s fees by checking our student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

Local area

Maps

Support and wellbeing

Sport at Brighton