Research Methods (Anthropology) MA

Durham University

Our MA in Research Methods (Anthropology) is designed to boost your knowledge and understanding of the human experience as you immerse yourself in a department which is passionate about producing the next generation of research anthropologists.

The course consists of three core modules, including qualitative and quantitative methods which are coordinated through the Durham Research Methods Centre. The remaining modules are selected from an extensive range, allowing you to tailor your learning to your chosen pathway be it socio-cultural anthropology, medical anthropology, the anthropology of development or cultural evolution. You can further tailor the direction of your study through your dissertation. The dissertation is often used as a pilot study in preparation for future PhD work.

As a student in one of the largest integrated anthropology departments in the UK, you will study in an environment that is focused on discussion and debate of current issues in the field, this gives you plenty of opportunities to engage with academic issues at the forefront of research. You will also have access to weekly research seminars hosted by the Durham Infancy and Sleep Centre, the Behavioural and Ecological Physiology Laboratory, the Physical Activity Laboratory, the South Africa Field Station and the Material Culture and Skeletal Collections.

The course is approved by the Economic and Social Research Council, which is the UK’s largest funder of economic, social, behavioural and human data science and is affiliated to the Northern Ireland and North East Doctoral Training Partnership of which the University is a member.

Course structure

Core modules:

Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Practices across Social Research introduces you to both contemporary social scientific research and the methods used in its practice. You will learn about the issues and challenges associated with researching and recording the complexities of social science and you will develop an understanding of where and how the philosophy, methods and disciplines of different research programmes engage with each other.

You will also learn about ethics in social research, including issues of power and equality. Quantitative Methods and Analysis provides an opportunity to enhance your knowledge, understanding and abilities in quantitative data analysis and develop the use of statistical techniques for exploring and describing sets of numbers-based data. You will also learn how to make statistics-based inferences about the links between social phenomena. Qualitative Methods and Analysis will equip you with the advanced knowledge and skills to understand and critically examine qualitative social sciences research, including different approaches to research and design and the analysis of qualitative data based on information in the form of feedback or responses from participants rather than from the numbers. The Dissertation is an independent research project in a specialist area of interest using the techniques developed in the research methods modules. The subject will be agreed with a supervisor and the degree tutor. You will be expected to write a literature review, collect data by fieldwork, laboratory work or from published sources, conduct data analysis and provide a presentation and initiate discussion of your findings.