Develop your ability to apply advanced analysis methods to psychological data. In this module, you will build the skills needed to be effective at every stage of the modern data analysis workflow, from handling large-scale, rich and sometimes messy real-life datasets, to constructing insightful models, to presenting high-impact evidence-based visualisations. At every stage, we will develop your coding skills in R and gain experience working in a team. Throughout, you will develop the critical reflective thinking skills you need to independently make decisions in the workplace. You will be introduced to popular, modern data modelling techniques through a combination of lectures and practical workshops. Emphasis will be on developing your understanding and capacity for critical evaluation to enable you to choose and effectively apply cutting-edge techniques in a variety of contexts.

This introduction to both qualitative and quantitative approaches to the analysis of talk and text is structured around the process of conducting a research project. You will develop the practical skills involved in conducting insightful interviews and focus group-based research. You will demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental ideas and practices involved in:

• Natural language processing
• Thematic Analysis and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)
• Conversation analysis and discursive approaches
• Quantitative analysis through Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC)
• Sentiment analysis and its applications

By the end of the module, you will be able to formulate a research question, engage with research ethics questions, and plan to sample and analyse talk and text.

Build the capacity to review research evidence effectively and efficiently, consistent with professional standards. To do this, you will develop the skills needed to conduct a systematic evidence or literature review to address a research aim or question in a behavioural, clinical or psychological science setting. Throughout, you will have the opportunity to critically engage with the strengths and limitations of systematic review methods, and you will practise discussing and presenting your findings effectively. You will learn how to:

• Rigorously develop research objectives or questions
• Search systematically and screen for relevant sources
• Extract or code data efficiently for analysis or synthesis
• Critically appraise research and make sense of findings from the research you examine

Build the capacity to review a body of research evidence. To do this, you will develop the skills needed to conduct a systematic evidence or literature review to address a research aim or question in a behavioural, clinical or psychological science setting. Throughout, you will have the opportunity to critically engage with the strengths and limitations of systematic review methods, discussing and practising developing research objectives or problems. You will also explore the processes involved in systematically searching for relevant sources, screening for potentially eligible studies and extracting or coding data. In addition, you will develop your ability to critically appraise research and synthesise, or otherwise make sense of, findings across a target set of research reports and other forms of evidence and sources. You will practise reporting and presenting your findings effectively and in-line with modern reporting best-practice standards.

Gain the skills in critical reading, thinking and effective communication you need for the professional workplace, particularly if that work relies on the contribution or application of insights or evidence from psychological science. At the end of this module, you will be able to identify the ethical questions raised and the principles that apply to a range of work settings in contemporary psychological science. You will grow your ability to locate, evaluate and synthesise single and multiple scholarly research reports, along with other formal sources. You will be able to effectively communicate your research findings to professional (academic, clinical, commercial, or policy) audiences, and to give (and work with) constructive feedback consistent with contemporary professional practices in the psychological sciences.

The MSc dissertation project is the culmination of your postgraduate studies. You will have the opportunity to work with an academic supervisor in an area of advanced research in the psychological sciences. You will develop and use your skills in critical thinking, self-organisation, working as part of a research team (with your supervisor) and critically engaging with the ethical implications of your research plans. Depending on the nature of your project, you will:

• Synthesise the research relevant to your topic area
• Rigorously develop research aims, questions or hypotheses
• Possibly develop the designs, materials and procedures required to collect primary data
• Possibly collate, develop and process previously collected data (for secondary analyses)
• Possibly conduct a systematic evidence review leading to a meta-analysis or other formal synthesis
• Learn how to apply appropriate quantitative or qualitative analysis techniques to develop psychological insights given your evidence
• Develop skills in the written or oral presentation of your findings to professional audiences

Gain the understanding and skills needed to apply core analytic methods across a range of psychological research and practice settings. You will develop your knowledge and skills through a combination of lectures and practical workshops and build your capacity to code using R, a modern statistical programming language.

You will learn about the application of key statistical tests in a variety of real-life contexts that will enable you to confidently identify the appropriate technique for analysing data in diverse environments. By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• Employ data analysis and processing tools using R
• Identify the analysis approaches that can be applied to test predictions
• Apply statistical tests that are essential to current practices
• Describe findings effectively using text and visualisations
• Translate data analysis findings into psychological insights