MSc Social Research

The MSc Social Research is an advanced degree in social scientific methodology and is recognised by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as a research training degree. It is suitable for those who wish to prepare for PhD research, as well as those seeking to increase key employability skills in qualitative fieldwork, quantitative data management, and data analytics.

• As a student on this programme, you’ll draw upon a wide variety of expertise from within the Centre for Urban and Community Research, the Methods Lab, and the Department of Sociology more widely.
• Based in London in an incredibly culturally diverse area, you will have direct access to one of the most stimulating fieldwork areas through which experience will be acquired conducting ‘live sociology’. This experience combined with undertaking a rigorous curriculum means that upon successful completion of the MSc all students will be proficient in preparing, designing, undertaking, and presenting advanced level social research suitable for all types of audiences.
• Throughout the degree you will undertake rigorous training in both qualitative and quantitative research designs and techniques.

Key research techniques covered include:

• conducting interviews
• ethnographic research
• discourse analysis
• visual sociology
• computer-assisted qualitative data analysis
• working with quantitative comparative data
• multiple regression analysis
• multi-level modelling
• longitudinal modelling
• Structural Equation Modelling
• Latent Class Analysis

Thinking Ahead

• We encourage students to use their MSc degree as a platform for PhD level research. Goldsmiths is part of the of the South East Network for Social Sciences (SeNSS) through which students can apply for fully-funded ESRC PhD studentships.
• For those looking to refine particular research skills to better understand groups and audiences, staff on the programme have many years’ experience working with charities, government agencies, and private sector companies, and can advise on research techniques and further training courses to fit bespoke needs.

Careers

You will gain advanced methodological knowledge within the social sciences coupled with hands-on experience working with a range of research techniques and software for data analysis. This grounding offers an advantageous position from which to apply for PhD funding or to move into careers which require advanced research skills and knowledge.

A number of students that have completed the MSc in Social Research have successfully acquired ESRC funding for doctoral level studies, while others have entered the public and third/NGO sector as well as the Civil Service ‘fast track’ scheme for government social research.

Students should have (or expect to be awarded) an undergraduate degree of at least upper second class standard in a relevant/related subject. Students might also be considered for some programmes if they aren’t a graduate or their degree is in an unrelated field, but have relevant experience and can show that students have the ability to work at postgraduate level.