In this module, you’ll gain an accessible and critical introduction to using numeric evidence in social research.

You will study the basics of quantitative research design, including:

• How to work with large-scale datasets
• Design surveys
• Understanding population level assumptions
• Interpret statistical outputs

In this module, you will understand key statistical techniques and ask thoughtful questions about the power and politics of data. The module emphasises a critical, reflexive approach that recognises that data is never neutral and that all research involves choices. You’ll also learn to check if data is fair, by looking at how it was collected and whether it is truly represents people.

You don’t need a strong background in maths to take this module. We’ll help you understand key statistical techniques and ask thoughtful questions about the power and politics of data. You’ll gain practical and critical skills essential for any well-rounded researcher.

This module develops the practical and critical skills required to analyse social research data. You will use the social research data to communicate findings effectively to a range of audiences.

You’ll learn how to interpret and combine both qualitative and quantitative data, using real-world examples to explore clear ways of presenting research, while considering ethics and aiming for impact.

The module will cover areas such as:

• Data visualisation
• Writing for academic and non-academic audiences
• Reports
• Presentations
• Policy briefings

Through hands-on workshops and reflective exercises, you’ll gain experience using digital tools to manage data and communicate complex findings in clear, engaging ways.

By the end of the module, you’ll have developed the analytical and presentational skills essential for professional research practice across academic, public, and third-sector contexts.

This module introduces you to the foundations of designing effective and meaningful social research. You’ll explore how different theoretical approaches shape research questions, methods, interpretations and develop a critical understanding of the relationship between theory and method in practice.

In this module, you will examine a range of research philosophies, from positivism to interpretivism and more. You will consider how research philosophies influence the ways we understand and study the social world. You’ll also investigate key ethical issues, reflecting on the responsibilities and dilemmas that researchers face when working with people, communities and data.

You will engage in important debates about disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity, encouraging you to consider the value and challenges of working across boundaries. This module equips you with the tools to think critically about research design, enabling you to make informed and reflective decisions in your own research practice.

This practical module gives you the tools to design and carry out qualitative research.

You will investigate complex social questions by applying a range of research methods, such as:

• Interviews
• Ethnography
• Focus groups
• Visual research

Alongside practical skills, you’ll explore how different methods relate to theoretical and ethical considerations. The module encourages critical thinking about what counts as data, how to build rapport with participants and how to navigate issues like positionality and representation.

You’ll also gain strategies for analysing qualitative data, including coding and thematic analysis.

By the end of the module, you’ll be able to confidently plan a qualitative research project and reflect critically on the strengths and limitations of different approaches.

This module helps you plan and develop your research ideas into a practical project. You’ll learn how to choose the right research methods, taking into account both ethical and practical considerations. This is a hands-on module where you’ll engage with real-world examples and receive feedback on your own project ideas.When planning research ideas, you will consider:

• Timelines
• Access
• Funding
• Challenges of doing research in complex settings

By the end of the module, you’ll have a solid foundation for conducting high-quality, ethically responsible research that reflects your own interests and ambitions. It’s excellent preparation for your dissertation and for working in research environments beyond university.

In this module, you’ll design and carry out an independent project on a topic of your choice.Guided by a supervisor, you will complete your independent project to include:

• Meaningful research questions
• Choosing appropriate methods
• Engage in relevant literature
• Analyse your findings

You’ll draw on the theoretical methodical and practical skills developed throughout the programme to produce original work that reflects your intellectual interests and research strengths.This is an exciting opportunity to take ownership of a project that inspires you and make a contribution to your chosen field. The dissertation can also be a springboard to further study or research-based careers.

This module provides an overview of the key theoretical debates and empirical issues that have developed with respect to the topic of violence within criminology. It facilitates research-led debate and discussion on prevention and response to violence in national and international realms and thinks critically about policy and practice in this area.

What is violence? How is it defined, and by whom? Should there be a hierarchy of what we consider violence, or is violence enacted as part of a continuum? You will engage with these complex questions in relation to the macro and meso, from state and corporate violence to the infliction and survival of interpersonal abuses.

Subjects covered may include:

• State violence
• Structural violence
• War crimes and crimes against humanity
• Torture
• Border related violence
• Gendered violence
• Interpersonal violence
• Zemiology (the study of social harm)

Gain a strong understanding of contemporary methodological issues by examining various critical methods through practical techniques and case studies related to media analysis.

You will explore different research practices, including:

• Textual and discourse analysis
• Visual analysis
• Ethnography
• Participatory approaches

You will focus on how who we are, how we differ and the power we hold shape our experiences in today’s hyper-complex media and cultural environment. You will draw on recent examples of media and cultural research at Lancaster University and examine their theoretical and practical implications.

By the end of this module, you will have a good understanding of the key elements in planning and carrying out independent research projects.

What ethical and political questions can we ask about ‘smart’ digital infrastructures that are typically overlooked by engineers and tech corporations? How can we approach the social connections forged by ‘smart’ digital infrastructures?

In this module, you will consider the forms of power and control underpinning algorithmic cultures and data. You will explore the progression of technology and how it has made the relationship between the digital and non-digital more complex.

You will consider how technology doesn’t always work as planned, whether it affects people differently or leads to unexpected consequences, such as:

• The messiness of datafication
• Algorithmic culture tied up with affective contagion
• Unpredictable ecosystems
• Electronic waste straddling the planet

Although keyword searches are a common gateway to analysing digitised and digital collections, many new, innovative approaches are being developed that enable humanities researchers to ask questions of their sources.

In this module, you will learn basic methods for analysing text, images, and other types of data in a variety of computational environments, from common desktop- or browser-based software to Jupyter notebooks or RStudio. With origins in linguistics, statistics, computer science, geography and more, these methods have been adapted and reimagined for scholarship in history, literature, and other humanities disciplines. As you refine your analytical skills, you will explore how these methods move between disciplines, the role of the humanities in methodological innovation, and how the emergence of AI is changing this methodological landscape.

Ethnography is both a way to share real human experiences and a method for studying them, which makes it a powerful form of research.

In this module, you will explore how ethnography is used to understand the experiences of both criminal justice practitioners and those impacted by the justice system. These studies look at everyday life in areas like drug cultures, the sex trade, human smuggling networks, policing, prison life and more. The study of ethnography can help us see how justice and criminalisation can be similar or different across different countries and cultures.

You will critically examine questions such as:

• How do ethnographers understand and engage with the ethics and politics surrounding "criminality" or "criminal justice work"?
• How does ethnography make otherwise neglected or marginalised justice cultures and criminological contexts accessible and intelligible?
• What distinctive advantages and disadvantages does ethnography as method provide scholars of criminology?

The results from digital methods will often be very different from the evidence humanities researchers collected and synthesised before digital interventions began to change our working practices. How do we work with big data? What is the relationship between quantitative and qualitative results? How do we combine more traditional forms of close with the types of distant reading often produced by digital methods?

This module prepares you to select appropriate methods for your sources, frame research questions that are answerable with digital methods, and distil results into significant claims. You will explore claim-making across different disciplines and how scholars make successful arguments at the intersection of traditional humanities disciplines and DH. You will thus develop skills essential to conducting larger studies, including developing a dissertation proposal.

Humanities researchers interact with sources in ways that were unimaginable a generation ago – photographing archival documents, searching full-text collections online, and automatically transcribing text from document images. But what ideas, methods, standards, and tools enable these tasks?

This module prepares you to access, create, curate, structure, enrich, store, and share historical materials such as books, newspapers, official publications, letters, maps and photographs – exploring opportunities and challenges when these are undertaken by individuals compared to organisations.

Along the way, you will review the history of digitisation and discuss key debates around the politics, economics, and cultures of digitisation around the world. This in-depth exploration of how and why sources are converted into machine-readable collections prepares you to make critically informed decisions about your own research and in future professional engagements with digital collections.

In this module, you will develop your own feminist practice with a creative project that could take many shapes, from an activist campaign to artwork. You will reflect on the ethical underpinnings of this work, and on its contribution to wider communities.

You will engage in your own practices of feminist world-building, informed by intersectional feminist ideas of reflexivity, responsibility and situated knowledge.

You will explore a variety of themes, such as:

• Power – Who makes knowledge and for whom?
• Political – How can we serve different communities through our work?
• Knowledge – How is knowledge always shaped by history and social context?

This module engages with history and contemporary developments in intersectional feminist thought. It focuses on feminist research and knowledge, highlighting the importance of cross-cultural work in Women’s and Gender Studies and the sensitivity to questions of difference and diversity.

You will explore different approaches, including:

• Intersectional
• Transnational
• Interdisciplinary

You will engage with a diverse range of case studies and material to explore ways in which Women’s and Gender Studies has critically engaged with issues of equality and justice globally. You will participate in lively, critical debates about important contemporary issues, considering how theoretical perspectives can help to shed light on the world around us.

The media industries employ millions of people around the globe. This module examines key historical and theoretical foundations that shape a critical understanding of the media and cultural industries.

You will analyse major advancements in media production and how they have been influenced by regulation and cultural policy.

The module explores inequalities within the cultural industries, including:

• Issues of diversity
• The realities of creative work
• The cultural and economic dimensions of the industries

By examining these aspects, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the media and cultural sectors. The module encourages critical thinking and engagement with contemporary issues, helping you develop a deeper understanding of how media, culture and society interact.

In this module, you will examine the methodological and ethical considerations involved in researching environmental issues through a social and cultural lens.

You will address ecological challenges through ideas and methods, such as:

• Research design
• Ethical frameworks
• The role of social sciences in interdisciplinary environmental research
• Qualitative approaches
• Reflexive practices
• Culturally grounded methods
• Case studies

You’ll explore decolonising methodologies and show how power shapes who gets heard and whose knowledge counts. You will learn to evaluate, select and apply appropriate methods in your own work, leading to the production of a project presentation.