Department of Research Methods and Practice

Learn about our newest department which brings together a thriving community of research methods specialists, current PhD, DBA and postdoctoral researchers, and the SoSS Doctoral Centre team.

Our research community

We have the university’s largest doctoral and postdoctoral research community within the School of Social Sciences, with students across the full range of subject areas, and in all our research centres. We offer both PhD and DBA programmes, and have students based in each of our international campuses, as well as independent distance learners located in all parts of the globe.

Research Methods and Practice staff

The Department is led by Professor Joanna Drugan, Global Head of Department and Director of Doctoral Programmes for the School of Social Sciences (which Edinburgh Business School is part of), and is supported by a number of other key colleagues.

Our students

Browse our student profiles for details of the many and varied projects that our doctoral community is engaged in. If you’re feeling inspired and want to join us, please look at our research pages and our academic staff profiles to see if we have active researchers within your area of interest. Please contact prospective supervisors directly for an informal discussion, and you can direct any general queries to the doctoral support team: soss.pgr@hw.ac.uk.

Why undertake a PG certificate?

The PGCert equips you with advanced critical understanding of core social science research methodologies so you can design and run your research project effectively. DBA students typically undertake this as a pre-doctoral programme before starting their research project; PhD students typically study for it during the first year (full-time) or two years (part-time) of their PhD. In addition, students have access to a wide range of opportunities for training and other events run within EBS, the wider School of Social Sciences, and the University’s Research Futures Academy, as well as training through our partner organisations, the Scottish Graduate School for Social Science, and the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities.