Social Inequalities and Research Methods (Taught)

The Social Inequalities and Research Methods MSc is a wide-ranging course for students interested in social inequality and who wish to develop the research skills necessary to examine it. Join Warwick Sociology to develop theoretical awareness of the social processes that generate social inequality, and a set of cutting-edge research skills and methodologies to empirically study its causes and effects.

The main aim of this course is to provide you with a thorough training in sophisticated qualitative and quantitative research methods that can be used to understand social inequalities. You will have the opportunity to further specialise in research methods of your choice in your dissertation project.

The course will introduce you to several dimensions of social inequality. You will study key topics such as social class and social stratification, work and employment, race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, health and disability. You will develop an in-depth understanding of key theoretical approaches and concepts for understanding inequality, and you will be introduced to key empirical studies in the area of social inequalities.

By the end of this course, you will have solid skills in research design, data collection, data management, and data analysis, and a wide-ranging understanding of the methodological and analytical aspects in the study of social inequalities

Skills from this degree

• Ability to analyse and evaluate research in the broad field of social inequality

• Ability to analyse and evaluate theories that seek to explain causes and effects of social inequality

• Ability to critically evaluate and utilise basic and advanced quantitative and qualitative techniques for the study of social inequality

• Ability to conduct independent research

• Ability to write about complex ideas in a clear way

• Ability to understand and assess claims to knowledge made by a range of relevant disciplines

This information is applicable for 2025 entry. Given the interval between the publication of courses and enrolment, some of the information may change. It is important to check our website before you apply.

Core modules

• Researching Inequality: Race, Class, and Gender in Global Perspective
• Qualitative Methods in Social Research
• Quantitative Methods in Social Research
• Dissertation

Optional modules
Optional modules can vary from year to year. Example optional modules may include:

• Politics & Social Theory
• Capitalism, States & Markets
• Postcolonial Theory & Politics
• Feminist Theories and Epistemologies: Debates and Dilemmas
• Indigenous and Global South Feminisms
• Decolonising Ecology: Race, Coloniality and the Climate Crisis
• Key Problems in Criminal Justice
• Feminist & Queer Thinking: Contemporary Challenges
• Gender, Imperialism and International Development
• Gender Analysis and Development Practice
• Market Life: Wealth and Poverty in Global Capitalism
• Social Research for Social Change
• State of the Art of Sociology
• Understanding Social Science
• Feminist & Queer Thinking: Contemporary Challenges
• Queering Sociology
• Sexualities
• Reproductive Justice
• Archival Encounters
• Ethnography and the Anthropological Tradition
• Social Data Science
• Creative Research Methods
• Advanced Quantitative Research
• Fundamentals in Quantitative Research
• Big Data: Hype or Revolution
• Critical Readings in Social Theory
• Transnational Media Ecologies
• Religion and the Planetary Crises
• Sociology of End Times

Read more about our core and optional modules on the Sociology website.