Study Details: MSc 1-year full-time; 2.5-years part-time
Recent years have been characterised by a significant expansion of opportunities to undertake social and cultural research. Such an expansion has contributed to the call for improved research education and training. The aim of the degree is to provide a strong theoretical and practical introduction to the world of sociological, social and cultural research. You will be exposed to the range of general academic research skills and expertise expected of the professional researcher in the social sciences.
The degree is a valuable preparation and qualification for a career in social research. It is also an excellent primer for those candidates planning to undertake a PhD in Sociology, Cultural Studies and cognate disciplines.
The course is based in the School of Social Sciences, and is largely taught by members of the Sociology and Communications subject group within the School.
The group was awarded a 5 in the last Research Assessment Exercise, which indicates a very high level of research excellence, and consists of lecturers all of whom are active in producing research. To find out more about the people who will be teaching you, visit our staff page.
Normally a good Honours degree from a UK institution relevant to social research; an equivalent overseas qualification or an equivalent professional qualification. Students whose first language is not English must have IELTS of at least 6.5 or equivalent
Brunel also offers our own BrunELT English Test and accept a range of other language courses. We also have a range of Pre-sessional English language courses, for students who do not meet these requirements, or who wish to improve their English.
Fees for 2012/13 entry
Home/EU students: £5,060 full-time, £2,530 part-time
International students: £12,650 full-time, £6,325 part-time
For funding opportunities see: http://www.brunel.ac.uk/courses/pg/funding
Fees quoted are per annum and are subject to an annual increase.
The course is designed to lead you to two kinds of subsequent career, depending on which one is of interest to you.
First, it will prepare you for PhD study in sociology. The course is designed as a primer and provides a thorough grounding in the craft of social and cultural research plus an opportunity for students to develop an original thesis of their own.
In addition, this course will prepare you for a career in social research. There are many opportunities in this field. Social research in many subject areas (for example: health, education, social work, criminology) is done by government agencies, charities, academic institutions and others. The best way to find out about available UK jobs in social research is to examine job advertisements in the Tuesday or Wednesday editions of the Guardian newspaper. See also the web site of the Social Research Association: http://www.the-sra.org.uk
Qualitative Methods in Social and Cultural Research
Main topics of study: developing research questions; research philosophies (positivism, phenomenology, reflexivity); ethnography; internet research; interviews; biographical methods; focus groups; surveys and sampling; qualitative data analysis; politics and ethics of research.
Quantitative Data Analysis
Main topics of study: Collecting data, data forms, data entry and data management; univariate statistical measures and tests; basic bivariate analysis – correlation, association and statistical significance; basic regression – i.e. linear regression; multiple regression and data-modelling; logistic regression, life-tables and hazard modelling.
Graduate Research Skills and Professional Development
Main topics of study: reviewing research aims and objectives; choosing research methods; study design, sampling, and analytical issues in the use of such methods; appropriate resources for such studies; using information technologies; managing a research project, presenting research information.
Dissertation
Recent examples of dissertations by students taking this course include:
Issues and Controversies in Media and Communications
Main topics of study: media ethics, media and moral panics, media power, media effects.
Media and Globalisation
Main topics of study: theorists of globalisation; globalisation and media; critics of globalisation; intellectual property and global media/culture industries; global Internet regulation; globalisation and media culture.
Creative Industries
Main topics of study: the rise of the creative class, the symbolic economy, immaterial labour, gentrification of cities, and advertising and branding.
Making Web Cultures
Main topics of study: The politics and social characteristics of online social networks; analysis of social media such as Facebook, Twitter and blogging culture; impact and use of web technologies for collaboration, e.g. wikis; problems of surveillance and privacy in the internet age.
Media Audiences
Main topics of study: television audiences and contemporary public issues (news and political communication, health and illness, sexual violence); ‘youth’ audiences and politics; audiences as citizens, consumers, producers. These case studies are explored in the context of wider debates concerning media effects/ influences; active’ audience theory.
Principles of Media Research
Main topics of study: key principles and ethics of media and communications research; focus groups in research practice; design and conduct of semi-structured interviews; analysing media content; analysing media discourses, audience surveys.
Popular Culture
Main topics of study: distributed power, global networks and cultural resistance; global internet culture critical; celebrity culture; psychological and social consequences of celebrity; mediation and social memory.
About Brunel University of London Brunel University of London, founded in 1966, is a leading technology university renowned for its education and res...