Perhaps the first thing to note about our MSc activity is that it is very much part of the Centre for Investigative Psychology. At any point in time we have around 10 people engaged in full-time three/four year doctorates here, as well as another half dozen or so who are registered part-time. We also have some postdoctoral fellows who are engaged in research and a little teaching activity. Most of these people have completed the 12-month MSc in Investigative Psychology course in the past. Associated with this group of Investigative Psychologists are other people involved in studies of safety in industry and other aspects of Organisational Psychology, or Environmental Psychology studies. Additionally, there is some close co-operation between the other Masters courses in terms of research practicals and lectures. These are currently 'Cognitive and Addictive Behaviour', 'Cognitive Neuroscience' and 'Research Methods'. For example, some of the research methods training is common to all Masters courses. This ensures that for those with limited statistical knowledge or those who feel they need refresher courses, such training is available in the first and second terms. It also means that you will have an opportunity to meet other students who may have different interests and approaches, thus enabling you to gain a wider appreciation of other areas of psychology. Finally, it means that you may gain greater insight into areas that may become relevant to you. For example, it is very well worth having some knowledge of addiction since it overlaps so frequently with offence behaviours. This does mean that MSc students are encouraged to work with and generally develop contacts across the range of other Applied Psychology activities that are relevant, often working on data from or in collaboration with, the PhD students or postdoctoral fellows.

Additionally, ranges of activities are pursued through the CIP above and beyond the MSc course. Often these are tied in with the MSc but they may operate independently. Principally, they involve research, either in the form of various staff interests or through research grants. Finally, members of staff are asked to contribute to legal inquiries or ongoing investigations. Because this keeps us informed of up to date concerns within policing, we do try to find additional time to work with these institutions. Thus, the three strands of work within CIP are research, education and consultancy. Perhaps the easiest way to give you an overview of the structure of this activity is through a graphic representation (see figure 1).

Figure 1: Overview of the activity of CIP and the links between these areas:

You will see that there is a fairly equal relationship between the impact of consultancy work informing research and research informing consultancy. That is because we recognise the importance of the concerns of the practitioners as informing relevant areas of interest. The extent to which the MSc influences consultancy is less significant, though at times it is possible for some students to assist in some aspects to case work. Finally, the research at the centre also has a very significant impact on the education of students and whilst we provide an objective account of other work in the area, it should be noted that an emphasis is placed upon the previous and current research of CIP and its associated links.

In summary then, research is the driving force behind CIP, both in terms of its influence on education and approaches to consultancy. Whilst both education and consultancy work feed upon one another, CIP should be viewed principally as a research centre that provides an education in that research endeavour and adopts a problem-solving orientation to the provision of consultancy advice.

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