Students take a range of taught modules primarily in the first two terms of the academic year. Starting from the first term, students undertake a module on research design which enables students to develop a research proposal for their dissertation.

Typical modules outlined below are those that were available to students styuding this programme in previous years. 

Perspectives on Social Research (15 credits)

Introduction to social scientific research
Establishing cause and interpreting meaning in social sciences
Essentials of quantitative and qualitative research in the social sciences.
Statistical Exploration and Reasoning (15 credits)

Spreadsheets and data analysis
Populations, sample data and sampling distributions
Point estimates and confidence intervals
Significance tests, cress-tabulations, and Chi-Square tests
Correlation and linear regression.
Research Design and Process (15 credits)

Formulating research questions
Evaluating and developing a research proposal
Reviewing relevant literature
Experimental vs. observational studies
Sampling and selecting respondents
Measurement. 
Qualitative Research Methods in Social Science (15 credits)

Introduction to theory and research practice in qualitative methods
Ethnography and grounded theory
Group discussions
Data analysis and management processes.
Quantitative Research Methods in Social Science (15 credits)

Sampling and sample design, questionnaire design
Numerical taxonomy and cluster analysis in practice
Methods for representing complex systems.
Contemporary Sociological Theory and Social Transformation (30 credits)

Contemporary sociological theories to understand transformations in modern society
Historical contexts of sociological theories
Theorizations of social divisions
Conceptualisations of self and identity.
Categorical Data Analysis with SPSS and R (15 credits)

Statistical Inference
Measuring and graphing relationships
Binary logistical regression models
Log-linear models.
Dissertation (60 credits)

15,000 word dissertation based on a supervised research project. 
Academic learning is assessed through a range of summative essays, statistical/computer-based projects, research proposals, and a dissertation.