Government Social Research
Yes. A new recruit at entry level (Research Officer) would typically have a good first or higher degree in a social science subject, usually with a significant research methods, social policy or statistics component. At the next level up (Senior Research Officer) applicants are expected to have had some work experience of carrying out social research, whereas Research Officers may be new graduates.
Some people enter government social research posts having gained Masters degrees or PhDs in social science subjects in addition to their undergraduate degree. This is not a requirement but means that competition for posts advertised externally to the civil service can be intense.
No. Your degree and any work experience will be important when you are applying for a vacancy, but your A' level or AS level results or their equivalent UCAS point score will not be.
The Government Social Research service (GSR) needs people:
Government social researchers are assessed against their competence to do the job. The skills and competencies needed, and their relative importance, will vary according to an individual's level of seniority and their job.
See GSR Competencies to find out more about the skills and competencies government social researchers need, and download the complete GSR Competency Framework.
Competencies are the behaviours, skills and knowledge that are needed to do a job effectively. The level at which they are needed and their relative importance may vary according to the job and grade.
Competency frameworks are collections of competencies that are linked together to describe and define what is important in a job.
A variety of opportunities are available to government social researchers to aid their personal and professional devlopment and enable them to perform their roles effectively. See the Professional Development pages for more information about what development opportunities government social researchers have.