Program Overview

Our Masters in Research Methods (MRes) is designed to develop high calibre research students versed in building theory and all aspects of investigating business and management practice. Being a ESRC-recognised degree, the course introduces the students to a broad range of orthodox approaches in business and management research practice, and then blends these with emerging techniques. The result is a course that attends to the dynamic range of research practice in the fields; as the world moves, so do the demands being placed on business and management researchers. Given the range of ideas and techniques students will be exposed to, the programme will be both challenging and rewarding in terms of student experience.

The programme serves two communities:

• The programme provides grounding for those intending to expand their studies into a PhD in Business and Management. The advantage of an MRes at Liverpool is that students have the opportunity to gain a Master’s qualification after one year of study. If successful in gaining a PhD place, students will be able to use their MRes training to fast track the early part of their PhD studies.
• The programme will be of interest to those working or intending to work in commercial, policy and professional organizations where research is a significant part of the work activity. These include: consultancies, research units, and non-governmental organizations.

Our MRes is run by faculty of the University of Liverpool Management School using dedicated modules. This enables faculty and students to learn from one another as peers with common research interests. It means the teaching follows the expertise of those delivering the modules, and ensures the content responds both to the history of, and emerging challenges in, the Business and Management field. Our MRes has two distinctive characteristics. For one thing, whilst modules provide a thorough grounding in established methods, students will also be introduced to innovative and even experimental approaches that have been used and written about by those doing the teaching. For another, the cohorts will be small, which is a deliberate act to foster individual guidance and fruitful relationships between faculty and students - all this in a congenial environment.

The University is a member of the prestigious Russell Group comprising the 20 leading research-intensive institutions in the UK. As a significant part in the University, the Management School is committed to being research-led, a commitment in which research students have a large role to play. MRes students will benefit from being taught by faculty who publish their work in top-tier international journals (e.g., Organization Studies, Human Relations, Journal of Management Studies), who have experience of writing and undertaking research grants, and who are actively considering how the methods being used by Business and Management scholars can work, and work better.