Methodological innovation

Exploring new and developing existing ways of doing social research to understand more about the societies in which we live.

We use qualitative and multi-method approaches, including facet methodology, sensory and visual methods, social network and ‘big’ data analysis, qualitative longitudinal panel studies and meta-ethnography.

Our research also involves analysing large datasets, such as the UK Census and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), using multi-level modelling and inference, longitudinal cohort analysis, and mixed-methods approaches.

Research centres and projects

• Cathie Marsh Institute (CMI), leading the way in quantitative social science.
• Morgan Centre for Research into Everyday Lives, researching personal life, relationships, and everyday life.
• Mitchell Centre for Social Network Analysis, a leading centre in the development and application of social network analysis techniques.
• methods@manchester, highlighting Manchester's strength in social sciences research methods.
• English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), researching physical and mental health, wellbeing, finances and attitudes around ageing.
• National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM), delivering high-quality methodological research and training.