Program Overview

MSc Research Methods in Psychology

The MSc Research Methods in Psychology is a postgraduate program designed for graduates in psychology who wish to begin a career in research. This course is primarily suited for someone who wishes to apply for a post as a research assistant or wishes to apply for doctoral study.

Key Facts

• Start date: September
• Study mode and duration: 12 months full-time
• Scholarships: EU Engagement Scholarships worth £10,000 available to applicants from EU countries

Course Overview

This course provides a thorough grounding in research methods for anyone wanting to apply for a research assistant post or for doctoral study or enter training for a scientist practitioner-oriented career such as educational or clinical psychology. Students will devote a significant amount of time to a substantial research project and focus on producing a thesis that is potentially publishable in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

Learning and Teaching

Taught classes are a mixture of tutorials, lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on practical sessions to facilitate learning.

Assessment

Each taught class has its own set of assessments, including essays, reports, class tests, presentations, and research proposals. The dissertation will culminate in a thesis.

Facilities

The department has a range of specialist research equipment available for use, including:

• Motion capture via a suite of six infra-red cameras
• A driving simulator which can be programmed to display different scenarios and be used in conjunction with other equipment
• Several types of eye tracker available which have been used to examine topics such as word reading and bias in attention to alcohol-related stimuli
• Two psychophysiology labs to measure electrodermal activity, heart activity, electromyographic signals, and EEG
• Experiment generator package ‘E-Prime’
• A variety of questionnaires and ability measures including access to the online survey tool ‘Qualtrics’

Course Content

Students will complete five areas of training over two semesters:

• Perspectives on Social Research: A general introduction to the processes of reasoning and practice in social research.
• Quantitative Research Methods: Advanced training in a range of quantitative statistics likely to be required for analyses conducted in the dissertation.
• Research Design: Developing the skills required to undertake a substantial original research project.
• Qualitative Research Methods: An introduction to the theoretical and practical aspects of using qualitative methods within Psychology.
• Dissertation: Students will undertake a large research project, supervised by one of the academics in the Department of Psychological Sciences and Health.

Entry Requirements

• Academic requirements: First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in Psychology from a UK University, or overseas equivalent. Applicants must be able to evidence that they have undertaken a statistics class/module and also a research methods class/module and completed a research project/dissertation in their undergraduate degree.
• English language requirements: Please check the English requirements before making an application.

Fees and Funding

• Scotland: £9,550
• England, Wales & Northern Ireland: £9,550
• Republic of Ireland: If you are an Irish citizen and have been ordinary resident in the Republic of Ireland for the three years prior to the relevant date, and will be coming to Scotland for Educational purposes only, you will meet the criteria of England, Wales & Northern Ireland fee status.
• International: £21,550
• Available scholarships: The Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences is offering a fee reduction of up to 25% to employees of NHS partner agencies.

Careers

The course is primarily designed for graduates in psychology who wish to begin a career in research. It's ideally suited to someone who wishes to apply for a post as a research assistant or wishes to apply for doctoral study. Previous students have been successful in receiving PhD funding from the University, as well as externally funded studentships from a variety of sources. The course also provides research training to graduates who may wish to enter professional training for jobs which have a ‘scientist-practitioner’ underpinning such as clinical psychology.