This MA provides research training with a specific focus on obtaining the skills needed for the examination and analysis of how societies, cultures, institutions and practices came into being, how they are currently organised and constituted and how they are changing.
Introduction
Taught by internationally recognised experts, this is a department that is at the forefront of pursuing research-based knowledge in support of social justice. We aim to give our students an exciting study experience in order to better understand what it means to be social, where society might be heading and what we can do to contribute to all our social futures.
You’ll develop advanced research skills, communication skills and ability to think analytically, which are essential for a successful career across a wide range of different occupations, and provide an excellent foundation for further postgraduate study.
We’ll teach you the politics and practice of social research, exploring the different aspects of the research process including the role of the social scientist and the constraints, benefits and limitations of social science. We’ll also introduce you to the historical debates about the relationship between method and knowledge and how they inform the development and transformation of the social sciences.
This master’s has an Economic and Social Research Council 1+3 Recognition status and has been specifically constructed for you if you intend to undertake professional and/or academic research in sociology, social policy and criminology.
Who is this course for?
This master’s is suitable for graduates in the Social Sciences or related areas. It will be a excellent step for those who want to undertake postgraduate study at MPhil and PhD level, or become an independent/career social researcher.
What you'll learn
How to plan and execute sociological research
A critical understanding of epistemological, methodological and ethical approaches in social research
Training in general research skills
Key debates, issues and controversies in sociological scholarship
How social, public and civil policy can be influenced by sociological knowledge
Project management and problem-solving skills.
Course content
Discover what you'll learn, what you'll study, and how you'll be taught and assessed.
If you're able to study part-time, you'll
study the same modules as the full-time master's degree over a longer period, usually 24 months. You
can make studying work for you by arranging your personal schedule
around lectures and seminars which take place during the day. After you
complete all the taught modules, you will complete your final
dissertation or project and will celebrate your achievements
at graduation the following term.
Studying part-time means you can study alongside work or any
other life commitments. You will
study the same modules as the full-time master's degree over a longer period, usually 24 months. You
can make studying work for you by arranging your personal schedule
around lectures and seminars which take place during the day. After you
complete all the taught modules, you will complete your final
dissertation or project and will celebrate your achievements
at graduation the following term.
Semester one
The MA programme consists of 120 credits of taught modules and a 15,000 word dissertation worth 60 credits.
In Semester 1, you are required to take two compulsory 15 credit modules and 30 credits of optional modules chosen from within the School of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and North West Social Science Doctoral Training Centre.
Compulsory modules
THE POLITICS AND PRACTICES OF SOCIAL RESEARCH (SOCI501)
Credits: 15 /
Semester: semester 1
This module provides students with an introduction to the politics and practice of social research. It does so by exploring the following aspects of the research process: the context of the modern university; the role of the social scientist; power, critique and reflexivity in the social sciences; the constraints, benefits and limitations of social science. Those are explored in relation to practical dillemas and cases studies in social science research.
PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE (SOCI504)
Credits: 15 /
Semester: semester 1
SOCI504 is a module that introduces students to academic debates about knowledge production and method within sociology and the social sciences. The module is structured to provide an insight into the historical debates about the relationship between method and knowledge and how they inform the development and transformation of the social sciences.
Optional modules
Understanding Society Using Quantitative Methods (SOCI508)
Credits: 15 /
Semester: semester 1
This module looks into the rationale and practice of analysing numerical data, largely derived from survey research, and the use of such data to understand the social world. It covers a range of skills from basic univariate and multivariate analysis techniques, to a consideration of the potential insights offered by longitudinal datasets and their analysis.
An Introduction to Critical Discourse Analysis (SOCI517)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 1
This 5 credit module is designed to introduce students to the theory and practice of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). Students are introduced to a critical understanding of discourse, which in turn encourages the analysis of language use in relation to questions of power in society. The module seeks to enable students’ engagement in such analyses, introducing them to appropriate methods and techniques, and providing them the opportunity to put these into practice.
Visual Data, Visual Analysis (SOCI518)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 1
This module is organised around a review of the critical sociological literature on visual data and visual analysis. Drawing together existing research in this sub-field – which is growing rapidly in significance – the module focuses particularly on academic research that has sought to develop critical approaches to the production and deployment of visual data in specifically urban contexts.
INTERVIEWING (SOCI526)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 1
This module on ‘interviewing’ gives participants an understanding of why, when, and how to use interviews in social research. The workshops will include opportunities for participants to understand when it is appropriate to use interviews in social research, to develop their own research questions, to learn how to prepare for and conduct interviews, as well as how to approach the analysis, and writing up of data. This learning on this module is underpinned by sociological theory and aims to provide an enhanced critical understanding of how different forms of interviews can be used to elicit different kinds of data, and how different ontological and epistemological positions in research impact on the data produced. The module is suitable for postgraduate students and research staff from all disciplines who require a period of additional supported study and reflection before they design and conduct their own interview based research project.
OBSERVATION (SOCI533)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 1
This 5 credit module will introduce students to observation and help them explore how they may draw on observational methods in their own research
PHOTOGRAPHY AND CREATIVE PRACTICE (SOCI540)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 1
How does one integrate photography into a research project, and how can this be in a creative and aesthetically impactful manner? In this module students will be introduced to photography as a visual method in the social sciences, particularly as a way to investigate social phenomenon. This module will also consider how photography works as a form of practice-based research, where creative practice affords us more opportunities to develop new insights into the social world.
USING FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUESTS IN RESEARCH (SOCI570)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 1
The module will introduce students to the process of applying for and using data obtained by Freedom of Information requests in the UK. It will provide a policy and historical context to the development of freedom of information and use this understanding to shape students strategies for obtaining such information.
DOING ETHICAL RESEARCH (SOCI571)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 1
This module will provide you with a good understanding of ethical principles underpinning formal ethical review (process) and the complexity of considerations that arise in the field (practice). The module will be delivered through a workshop that will provide the opportunity for student-led discussions on specific ethical issues related to your research. It will be assessed through a short critical review of an ethical issue(s).
Programme details and modules listed are illustrative only and subject to change.
Semester two
In Semester 2, you chose up to 60 credits of social research methods training modules.
Optional modules
Using Foucault's Methods (SOCI515)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 2
Michel Foucault’s work has been influential in a wide range of disciplines. SOCI515 is a module that introduces students to the uses of Foucault’s theory and method within the social sciences. The module is structured to provide an insight into the ways Foucault’s technique and method have been taken up in sociology and applied to social research. Focusing on discourse as the cornerstone of Foucault’s methods our aim is to reconsider the status of ‘reality’ in the social sciences.
Focus Groups (SOCI516)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 2
This module will help students design, plan and carry out focus group discussions, and will cover both the theory, ethics and practice of focus group research. Particular attention will be paid to the analysis of verbal and non-verbal interaction.
Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis (SOCI519)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 2
Ethnomethodology and conversation analysis are radical approaches to social inquiry. While distinct, ethnomethodology – the study of practical methods of action and reasoning, i.e. ‘ethno-methods’ – and conversation analysis – the study of ‘talk-in-interaction’ – are grounded in detailed investigations of how people in all manner of ordinary and specialised sites and settings organise their activities from within. Although this module will chart the development of ethnomethodology and conversation analysis and situate them intellectually in wider fields of inquiry, its purpose is to provide an advanced, hands-on introduction to the unique way both approach the study of social practices via ‘tutorial problems’ centred on the analysis of interactional data collected as part of small-scale fieldwork exercises. Among others things, the module will look at how ethnographic research, observation and interviewing can be ‘repurposed’, that is, put to work in alternate ways when pursued ethnomethodologically.
Participatory Action Research (SOCI520)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 2
This module gives you the opportunity to plan a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project in preparation for your dissertation. Students will be given the opportunity to do this through Interchange, a charity that links students to 3rd sector organisations working in social welfare, social policy or criminal justice contexts. Students will not be encouraged to undertake a PAR dissertation unless they have completed this module.
Narrative Interviewing (SOCI524)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 2
Narrative Inquiry represents an innovation in social research methodologies. It has proven particularly important for advancing how social scientists seek to understand constructions of meaning, the role of memory and the importance of temporality and identity. This module will introduce the student to key theoretical and methodological principles in conducting narrative research focusing primarily on interviewing. This module is an option for the Masters in Social Research Methods, and is also open for non-credited attendance to all postgraduate students in the university.
DOING ETHICAL RESEARCH (SOCI527)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 2
This module will provide you with a good understanding of ethical principles underpinning formal ethical review (process) and the complexity of considerations that arise in the field (practice). The module will be delivered through a workshop that will provide the opportunity for student-led discussions on specific ethical issues related to your research. It will be assessed through a short critical review of an ethical issue(s).
SPATIAL ANALYSIS: MAPPING TECHNIQUES IN SOCIAL RESEARCH (SOCI534)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 2
This 5 credit module is designed to introduce students to the theory and practice of spatial analysis for social research purposes. Students are introduced to ways in which mapping can be used to critically analyse, and visualise, power relations within society. The module seeks to introduce students to basic mapping techniques, engage with the advantages and limitations of using such an approach, and provide them with the opportunity to put these in to practice.
Rapid Ethnography and Rapid Appraisal (SOCI502)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 2
Effective professional Rapid Appraisals (of e.g. concerning public health/educational/criminal justice issues such as drug use in a specific location) can be carried out from start to final report in comparatively short periods of time (e.g. 2-3 months). The WHO has lauded RAs as both useful and credible – particularly in low knowledge contexts of increasing harms where new rapidly acquired knowledge might provide the opportunity for early, critical intervention. Rapid ethnography is either a component part of RAs or stand-alone approach to rapidly acquiring depth information in a particular space. This module provides a critical introduction to the effective undertaking of both rapid appraisal and rapid ethnographic research. The module will also highlight the advantages and benefits of the research for researchers, policy-makers and other stakeholders. Efficacy will be evidenced through a focus on complex cross-cultural and criminal behaviours about which little is known. After completing this module students will have good insight into how to carry out rapid ethnography/rapid appraisal in a critically informed way.
Programme details and modules listed are illustrative only and subject to change.
Final project
Your dissertation is normally submitted in the September ending the year of the MA programme and carries 60 of a total of 180 credits.
Compulsory modules
DISSERTATION (SOCI403)
Credits: 60 /
Semester: summer
In this module students formulate a research question and develop a research proposal, including a clear research strategy. Students will work independently to conduct library based or original empirical, social–scientific research aimed at answering a research question, applying methodological principles and research techniques. The dissertation requires students to creatively use theoretical insights and concepts relevant to the research question at hand, to generate new knowledge about the issue addressed in the thesis and report about the research and the results in a clear and systematic way.
Programme details and modules listed are illustrative only and subject to change.
How you'll learn
You’ll be taught through a mixture of large group seminars/tutorials, small group workshops, one to one tutorials and research supervision meetings. You’ll also carry out project work and private study.
Teaching is delivered in an interactive, participatory and inclusive way, with extensive support of small group teaching and online learning platforms.
How you're assessed
Each of the taught modules are formally assessed by coursework on a semester basis. Depending on the learning objective of the module, this may include essays, project work, fieldwork analysis, research strategy document, report of research observation, book review or the completion and analysis of interviews.
Liverpool Hallmarks
We have a distinctive approach to education, the Liverpool Curriculum Framework, which focuses on research-connected teaching, active learning, and authentic assessment to ensure our students graduate as digitally fluent and confident global citizens.
Your experience
The Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology is one of the UK’s leading centres for criminology, and has been for over 100 years. Our shared pursuit of research-based knowledge in support of social justice sets this department apart from most of its contemporaries in the UK and beyond.
Students will have access to the state-of-the-art facilities of the School of Law and Social Justice Building, as well as excellent library and IT facilities just one minute’s walk away.
Support for students with differing needs from the Disability advice and guidance team. They can identify and recommend appropriate support provisions for you.
This MA is recognised nationally by the Economic and Social Research Council for providing quality methods training for those seeking a career in social science. It will give you the required skills to progress directly onto doctoral level social research, or to take up employment in a wide variety of careers within the government, charitable and/or private sectors. National and local government, as well as Regional Development Agencies have noted the rapid rise in demand for graduates qualified in the full spectrum of research design and analysis techniques.
Career support from day one to graduation and beyond
The Social Research Methods MA is designed to meet the needs of both pre-employment training and within-post career development.
Potential career pathways include, but are not limited to, roles within:
Commercial research
Public health sector
Public policy
Third/NGO sector
This MA also equips you with the skills and knowledge needed for an academic career or a university research career in the Social Sciences (Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology) or in a related discipline.
Fees and funding
Your tuition fees, funding your studies, and other costs to consider.
Tuition fees
UK fees (applies to Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland)
Full-time place, per year
£9,950
Part-time place, per year
£4,975
International fees
Full-time place, per year
£20,250
Part-time place, per year
£10,125
Fees stated are for the 2023-24 academic year.
Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching and assessment, operating facilities such as libraries, IT equipment, and access to academic and personal support.
We understand that budgeting for your time at university is important, and we want to make sure you understand any course-related costs that are not covered by your tuition fee. This could include buying a laptop, books, or stationery.
For entry to our MA either a first degree or a Masters degree in the Social Sciences or related areas is required, although experience and/or strong supporting references may justify entry with a lower grade. Those with non-social science back grounds may also be considered if their experience and references suggest support for this.
International qualifications
If you hold a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, but don’t meet our entry requirements, a Pre-Master’s can help you gain a place. This specialist preparation course for postgraduate study is offered on campus at the University of Liverpool International College, in partnership with Kaplan International Pathways. Although there’s no direct Pre-Master’s route to this MA, completing a Pre-Master’s pathway can guarantee you a place on many other postgraduate courses at The University of Liverpool.
Liverpool bursts with diversity and creativity which makes it ideal for you to undertake your postgraduate studies and access various opportunities for you and your family.
To fully immerse yourself in the university experience living in halls will keep you close to campus where you can always meet new people. Find your home away from home.
Discover what expenses are covered by the cost of your tuition fees and other finance-related information you may need regarding your studies at Liverpool.
Contact us
Have a question about this course or studying with us? Our dedicated enquiries team can help.
