M.Sc. in Applied Social Research

All information about the programme should go under the following headings/sections:
1. Programme name (it’s an opening or ‘About’ section of the programme which includes a brief description of the programme, why it’s unique,what are the target students for this programme,etc).

This Masters course aims to equip students with the skills necessary for the conduct of social research, including advanced training in quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The course is multi-disciplinary and career-focused. We aim to create a stimulating learning environment for our students and put great store in the search for innovative directions in research. We teach through a combination of lectures and workshops which encourage interaction, dialogue and debate between students and between students and their lecturers. Our teaching team comprises individuals with high-level research and teaching skills who have a strong repertoire of experience in the design, conduct, and publication of research. As you navigate this web page, I hope you will get a good sense of what this Masters course involves and of the application of the skills you will learn to ‘real world’ research environments.I invite you to spend a few minutes on our web page learning more about this Masters. You will, no doubt, have questions about the course and I encourage you to call or email our Course Administrator,Laura Cusack, or myself if you have any queries. I am happy to meet with you if you think that would be helpful.

Paula Mayock, PhD, Course Director

2. Programme Structure & Content (this section should include course details on the calendar and delivery / modules, work placements (if applicable), assessment, course handbooks, etc).

The Masters programme consists of a number of integrated modules which run over 2-4 semesters (depending on full or part-time registration). Students also complete a work placement over a period of eight weeks. Arrangements can be made for part-time students to complete the work placement over a shorter period. Alternatively, students who are in full or part-time employment can complete the work placement in their current place of employment by taking on some research-related tasks. Students are required to complete a research dissertation which they submit following the completion of all course assignments.

The programme consists of the following modules:

1. Qualitative Research Methods and Research Ethics
2. Quantitative Research Methods

3. Research Design, Evaluation Research and Accessing Resources

4. Work Placement
5. Research Dissertation

Click here for more information on each module (Link to pdf 1)

Attendance in College

Full-time students attend college on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.

Part-time students attend college on Mondays in Year 1 and on Tuesdays in Year 2.

Full-time Students / Part-time Students
Taught Modules / Year 1:
  • Quantitative Research Methods 1&2: Survey Design; Applied Social Statistics.
  • Qualitative Research Methods.
  • Research Design, Accessing Resources and Research Ethics.
/ Year 1:
  • Quantitative Research Methods 1: Survey Design.
  • Qualitative Research Methods.
  • Research Design, Accessing Resources and Research Ethics.
Year 2:
  • Quantitative Research Methods 2: Applied Social Statistics.

Guest Lectures / Year 1 / Year 2
Work Placement / Year 1 (Mid-April to Mid-June) / Year 2 (Mid-April to Mid-June)
Dissertation / Year 1 (mid-June to End August) / Year 2 (mid-June to End August)

Guest Lectures

Throughout the academic year, there will be a number of Guest Lectures. These guest lectures are included on the timetable to ensure that students:

  • are aware of a range of research projects currently ongoing in Ireland;
  • learn about the diverse range of research designs, approaches and methodologies currently in use;
  • gain exposure to the working intricacies (including methodological challenges) associated with the conduct of social science research;
  • become acquainted with the wider research community.

Guest lectures are delivered by subject specialists from the public and private sectors who have effectively conducted applied research in one or a number of areas. These lectures vary from year to year and may include the following types of topics: crisis pregnancy, health related topics, ageing, ethnic minorities, poverty/socio-economic disadvantage, equality policies and legislation, population health, sexuality/sexual health, mental health, educational disadvantage, and research involving children and young people.

Clickhereto download the Semester 2 Guest Lecture Schedule (Link to pdf 2)

3. Programme Staff(names and details of teaching staff).

Dr. Paula Mayock is the Course Director of the Masters in Applied Social Research and also delivers the Qualitative Research Methods and Research Ethics Module. Dr. Philip Curry delivers the Quantitative Research Methods Module, while Ms. Daniela Rohde, Ms. Siobhan Scarlett and Ms. Keishia Taylor teach quantitative research analysis techniques using SPSS. Dr. Catherine Conlon teaches Research Design and Dr. Brid McGrath teaches Accessing Resources. Dr. Kate Babineau is Teaching Assistant to the Qualitative Research Methods Module.

Dr. Paula Mayock
Dr. Paula Mayock is an Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work and Social Policy and Senior Researcher at the Children's Research Centre, Trinity College Dublin. She is a qualitative methodologist with a particular interest in biographical and qualitative longitudinal research methods and is currently Course Director of the Masters in Applied Social Research. Her research focuses primarily on the lives and experiences of marginalised youth, covering areas such as homelessness, drug use and drug problems, sexuality, and mental health. Paula is the recipient of numerous research awards from statutory and voluntary agencies (e.g. Department of Children and Youth Affairs, Health Service Executive, Crisis Pregnancy Agency, Homeless Agency, National Office for Suicide Prevention, Gay and Lesbian Equality Network, Dublin Region Homeless Executive, Focus Ireland). She is a NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) INVEST Post-doctoral Fellow (2006-07) and an IRC (Irish Research Council) Research Fellow (2009-10). She was also the recipient of an IRCHSS 'New Ideas' Award (2011). Paula is the author of numerous articles, book chapters and research reports. She is an Assistant Editor of the international journalAddictionand the founder and chairperson of theWomen’s Homelessness in Europe Network.

Dr Philip Curry
Dr. Philip Curry is a social psychologist and Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin. He teaches quantitative research methods to students of the Masters in Applied Social Research and Psychology to undergraduate Social Work students. His research focuses on the perspectives, experiences and behaviours of children and young people in relation to migration and diversity. He is particularly interested in empirical evaluation of policy initiatives to enhance inter-ethnic relations among children, the driving question behind his research being to determine what children, schools and communities can do to ensure that all parties get the most out of multi-cultural societies.

Dr. Michelle Share
Dr. Michelle Share is a Senior Research Fellow at the Children's Research Centre.Michelle’s work involves the design and conduct of large-scale programme evaluations, involving quantitative and qualitative methods in child and youth settings. She has conducted child and youth focused research in areas of nutrition, smoking, mental health, school health education, widening participation, and intellectual disability service provision. Michelle has considerable experience in conducting needs assessments and research in areas of socio-economic disadvantage and with marginalised groups of children and young people. Michelle also teaches evaluation research in Trinity’s MSc in Applied Research Methods programme. She has published in Ireland and internationally on topics from community development and capacity building to adolescent food choice. Michelle holds a Masters in Education (Higher Education) (Trinity College Dublin), a Masters degree in International and Community Development Studies (Deakin University, Australia) and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Sociology (Charles Sturt University, Australia). Her PhD (University of Ulster) funded by Safefood, the Food Safety Promotion Board) examined food provision and education issues amongst students, teachers, parents and caterers in different school types in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Her Masters in Education examined the PhD viva in three Irish higher education institutions.

Dr. Catherine Conlon

Catherine is Asst Prof in Social Policy at the School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin. Her research interests are: gender, sexuality and reproductive health; intergenerational family relations; sexual socialization and; critical qualitative methodologies. Her teaching areas currently include Families and Social Policy in Ireland and Research Methods for Practitioners. She has a strong track record of applied policy research including for the HSE Crisis Pregnancy Programme/Crisis Pregnancy Agency, the Equality Authority and the Combat Poverty Agency. She co-authored, with Evelyn Mahon and Lucy Dillon Women and Crisis Pregnancy published by Government Publications in 1998. Recent academic publications include lead authored articles in Gender & Society (Women (Re)Negotiating Care across Family Generations: Intersections of Gender and Socioeconomic Status. 28, (5) 729-751, 2014. ) and Qualitative Research (Emergent Reconstruction’ in Grounded Theory: Learning from Team Based Interview Research. 15, (1) 39-56, 2015). Forthcoming publications include a co-edited collected (with Aideen Quilty and Sinead Kennedy) entitled The Abortion Papers Ireland Volume Two with Cork University Press. An interest in innovative translation of applied policy research led to a recent project translating research with women concealing pregnancy into an Opera performance in collaboration with colleagues in Music and English.

Dr. Bríd McGrath
Dr. Bríd McGrath (B.A. (Mod.), M. Litt., Ph. D., D.L.I.S.) is a researcher and information consultant who has worked in the health and social services sector in Ireland for more than 30 years. She is an expert in sources of quality information in the social services and social policy areas and in their effective exploitation. Bríd is a former Research Fellow in the Departments of Social Policy and Pyschology in Trinity College Dublin and has also lectured in the Department of Library and Information Studies, U.C.D.She has worked as a Research Associate in the School of Social Work and Social Policy since 1994. Bríd has published reports, papers and articles on issues related to social affairs in Ireland, information services and policy, and also early modern Irish history.

Dr. Kate Babineau
Dr. Kate Babineau completed the MSc in Applied Social Research programme in 2009 and earned a PhD in Child and Youth Research from Trinity College Dublin in 2014.For her doctoral studies funded by the Trinity Immigration Initiative, she designed and validated a child-centred measure of inter-ethnic relations using a mixed methods approach.Prior to entering into social research, Kate worked as a primary school teacher and as a youth development project manager. She current works as a postdoctoral researcher with the TobaccoFree Research Institute of Ireland and as a freelance researcher.Her interests include child and youth centred research, migration, ethnicity and health,and creative / emerging methodologies.

Ms. Daniela Rohde

To follow

Ms. Siobhan Scarlett

To follow

Ms. Keishia Taylor

To follow

4. Entry Requirements & How to Apply(any relevant information on required documentation, submitting applications, selection criteria, etc).

Applicants for the Masters in Applied Social Research

Students who apply for the Masters in Applied Social Research typically have an undergraduate degree in a social science discipline. However, we accept graduates in other disciplines including health sciences, business studies, marketing, history etc.

Many of our part-time students are employed on either a full- or part-time basis and apply for this course because they want to build a suite of research skills for application in their current work environments.

In summary, applicants for the Masters in Applied Social Research include:

  • Graduates from relevant disciplines (e.g., Social Sciences, Education, Psychology, Health Sciences, Business, Marketing, Economics).
  • Professionals who work in a range of statutory and NGO services and agencies.
  • Professionals who work in government departments.
  • Policy makers.

Entry Requirements

Applicants should normally have an upper second-class honors degree in one of the Social Sciences. Applications from graduates in other disciplines (e.g. health sciences, business studies, marketing, history etc.) who have relevant experience will be considered.

How to Apply

We are now accepting applications for our September 2016 intake.

Applications are completed electronically and require the following documentation:

  • Application Form completed onlinehere
  • 2 Reference Letters - applicants are not required to get two hard copy references. You must list two referee contact details on the online application form. An automated email will be sent to both referees asking them to complete a template and send it back. (It is preferable that references are either academic or professional)
  • Official Transcripts - a transcript is a breakdown of the modules you completed and the grades you obtained. Please contact your University to request a transcript as soon as possible as some Universities can take up to 21 days to process transcripts. (This includes undergraduate transcripts and graduate transcripts if applicable)
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • 1 current photo (headshot). Please ensure it is a clear picture with a plain background.(It is preferable that it is in jpeg format)
  • A certified certificate of English Language Competency if English is not your first language (e.g. TOEFL or IELTS). For more information see here

5. Fees(fees for EU and non-EU students, information on application or other additional fees).

Fee information can be found at

6. Careers & Alumni(this section shouldoutline some potential future /career opportunities, testimonials from former students, etc.)

This Master’s degree is career-focused and strongly orientated towards preparing students for the work force. We aim, through the following key components of the course, to prepare our students for a labour market that increasingly values the highly transferrable skills that you will have acquired on completing this Masters:

  • Thework placement component of the course: This essentially allows students to transition from ‘textbook’ understanding of research methodology to ‘real world’ research experience. We have established relationships with a wide range of research institutions and environments and we provide our students with significant choices and options in this regard.Clickhereto view some of the organisations that typically host you, our students (Link to pdf 3)
  • TheCareers Advisory Service, Trinity College Dublin: At a number of intervals throughout the academic year a member of staff from the Careers Advisory Service provides advice to student on how to: 1) build a career and sustain a career path; 2) prepare a CV for job applications; and 3) prepare for job interviews. All registered students at TCD can avail of the wide range of services provided by theCareers Advisory Service.
  • OurAlumni: We maintain contact with our graduates via email and alert them to job opportunities and to research events and conferences that will enable them to ‘network’ and build connections in the fields of research, policy and advocacy.

Researchers and data analysts are in high demand in all areas of employment. There are excellent career opportunities, both in Ireland and abroad, for scientists and social scientists withbothquantitative and qualitative research skills. The research and data analysis skills taught on this course have application in a wide range of areas, including scientific and health research, social work, education, child and youth studies, migration research, ageing and life course research, gender studies, marketing, management science, economics, psychology and sociology.

Our recent MSc graduates work in diverse areas such as public health, social science and market research, social policy, and statistics. A large number are employed in university-based departments and research institutes, Government departments, statutory organisations, the NGO sector, and private research consultancies. Many of our graduates have gone on to study for PhDs.

Click here to hear from our graduates (Link to pdf 4)

In other words, this degree provides a stand-alone qualification that enables career entry and progression in a diverse range of employment contexts whilst also providing a strong foundation for further (fourth-level or PhD) study.

In 2012 we conducted a survey of graduates of the Masters in Applied Social Research during the previous six years.Click here to read the results (Link to pdf 5)

7. Contact us(contact details).

Ms. Laura Cusack, Executive Officer
School of Social Work and Social Policy
Tel: +353 1 896 3593
Email:

Dr Paula Mayock, Course Director
School of Social Work and Social Policy
Tel: +353 1 896 2636
Email: