Psychological Research Methods (Taught)

This MSc Psychological Research Methods provides you with a solid grounding in how to understand and carry out research for a wide variety of applications. It is ideal if you are a graduate from psychology or a related discipline keen to advance and expand your research skills.

Why choose this course?

• This course provides you with an excellent basis for continued research at PhD level or for progressing in a research career in health, education, market research, HR, policy, polling or bioinformatics.

• It enables you to synthesise existing knowledge and be able to analyse it critically. You will learn to further knowledge in a robust way from experts in the fields of quantitative and qualitative research from across the globe.

• It offers you hands-on experience of using statistical software in laboratories, and practical sessions.

What you will learn

This course offers you an increased awareness of the principles of qualitative research and an understanding of techniques associated with key research approaches. You will learn a wide variety of research skills, designs and applications. You will also learn how to interpret results and apply them to advance knowledge across a spectrum of areas.

How you will learn

You can study this course full- or part-time. It has a daytime timetable with classes taught in the daytime, apart from some option modules which may be taught in the evening. We have a focus on small group collaboration, and you will learn through workshops, lectures, seminars and guided discussion groups.

You will also have access to lab meetings and weekly research talks led by experts from around the world, and you will benefit from individual supervision to design, run and analyse your own research project.

Highlights

• In the 2023 National Student Survey, Birkbeck's School of Psychological Sciences ranked 5th in the UK for teaching.

• We are consistently regarded as one of the top institutions teaching psychological sciences in the UK. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, and for the third time, we were ranked in the top ten universities in the UK.

• This course provides you with a range of appropriate research skills and experiences for research at PhD level or in the private sector.

• You will have an opportunity to attend research seminars organised by Birkbeck and a number of other local research centres and institutes.

• If you have a strong academic record but require financial support to take this course, you may be eligible for the Kenway Legacy Scholarship which will cover the cost of your tuition fees.

• ESRC funding may be available in conjunction with PhD study.

Careers and employability

On successfully graduating from this MSc Psychological Research Methods, you will have gained an array of important transferable skills, including in:

• advanced quantitative statistics (SPSS, R, MATLAB)

• advanced qualitative methodology (IPA, Grounded Theory, Discourse Analysis)

• experimental platform design (Gorilla.sc)

• critical essay writing and evaluation skills

• experimental and exploratory design and methodology

• data collection and analysis skills

• oral presentation skills.

Graduates can pursue research roles in the public or private sector and follow career paths in areas such as academia, psychology, health or education. Possible professions may include:

• research psychologist

• market researcher

• educational psychologist

• human resources officer.

We offer a comprehensive careers service - Careers and Enterprise - your career partner during your time at Birkbeck and beyond. At every stage of your career journey, we empower you to take ownership of your future, helping you to make the connection between your experience, education and future ambitions.