
Research Methods in Psychology
SAGE Publications Ltd (Publisher)
6th Edition
Will be published approx. on 14. November 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
608 pages
978-1-5296-9690-5 (ISBN)
Description
This textbook throws open the doors to psychological research, revealing how ideas become evidence, and how you do that for yourself.
Grounded in real-world practice, it places ethical responsibility at the heart of psychological research-challenging you think carefully about your obligations to research participants and to those who depend on research findings.
Each chapter is written by a recognised expert in the methods it explores, ensuring authoritative and practice-informed coverage throughout and clearly organised into preparation, collection and analysis sections.
Contributors include Virginia Braun, Victoria Clarke, Andy Field, and Michiel Spape.
The book is designed to actively support learning, with features that help you consolidate key concepts, sharpen your analytical thinking, and develop strong evaluation skills.
You'll find learning objectives, exercises, discussion questions, and illustrations of key studies.
For this edition, the book was restructured to make the research process easier to follow, new chapters added to make sure the most common methods all had equal coverage, and that they all were focused on getting across the core knowledge, as easily as possible.
Clear, current, and compelling, this is an essential guide for anyone seeking to understand-and apply-research methods in psychology.
Grounded in real-world practice, it places ethical responsibility at the heart of psychological research-challenging you think carefully about your obligations to research participants and to those who depend on research findings.
Each chapter is written by a recognised expert in the methods it explores, ensuring authoritative and practice-informed coverage throughout and clearly organised into preparation, collection and analysis sections.
Contributors include Virginia Braun, Victoria Clarke, Andy Field, and Michiel Spape.
The book is designed to actively support learning, with features that help you consolidate key concepts, sharpen your analytical thinking, and develop strong evaluation skills.
You'll find learning objectives, exercises, discussion questions, and illustrations of key studies.
For this edition, the book was restructured to make the research process easier to follow, new chapters added to make sure the most common methods all had equal coverage, and that they all were focused on getting across the core knowledge, as easily as possible.
Clear, current, and compelling, this is an essential guide for anyone seeking to understand-and apply-research methods in psychology.
More details
Edition
6th Revised edition
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Edition type
Revised edition
Dimensions
Height: 246 mm
Width: 189 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-5296-9690-5 (9781529696905)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Glynis M. Breakwell | Daniel B. Wright
Research Methods in Psychology
Book
approx. 11/2026
6th Edition
SAGE Publications Ltd
€173.50
Not yet published
Previous edition

Glynis M. Breakwell | Daniel B. Wright | Julie Barnett
Research Methods in Psychology
Book
10/2020
5th Edition
SAGE Publications Ltd
€147.20
Shipment within 15-20 days
Persons
Dame Glynis M. Breakwell is Professor Emeritus at the University of Bath in the Department of Psychology and has Visiting Professorships at Imperial College, London and the University of Surrey. Her research focuses upon identity process theory, social influence and social representation processes, leadership in complex organisations, and the psychology of risk management, perception, and communication. She has published more than 20 books, several of which are on research methods. She has been an adviser to both public and private sector organisations on the use of psychological methods and theories, especially concerning responses to public crises and major emergencies.
Daniel B. Wright is Professor of Educational Assessment, in the Department of Educational Psychology and Higher Education, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His interests are in methodology and applied cognitive science.
Daniel B. Wright is Professor of Educational Assessment, in the Department of Educational Psychology and Higher Education, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His interests are in methodology and applied cognitive science.
Content
PART 1 Research Strategy and Design
Chapter 1 Research Ethics - Julie Barnett and Daniel B. Wright
Chapter 2 Theory and Method - Glynis M. Breakwell
Chapter 3 Designing Research - Glynis M. Breakwell
Chapter 4 Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches - Daniel B. Wright
PART 2 Collecting Data
Chapter 5 Sampling - Daniel B. Wright
Chapter 6 Measurement - David J. Hand
Chapter 7 Observation - Glynis M. Breakwell
Chapter 8 Interviewing - Glynis M. Breakwell
Chapter 9 Diaries - Lauri Hyers and Dangeni Dangeni
Chapter 10 Focus Group - Korina Sotirakopoulou
Chapter 11 Ethnography and Action Research - Xenia Chryssochoou, Melina Niraki and Ioannis Ntotsikas
Chapter 12 Questionnaire Design - Chris Fife-Schaw
Chapter 13 Psychometric Methods - R. Michael Furr
Chapter 14 Psychophysiological Methods - Michiel M. Spape
Chapter 15 Survey Methods - Ting Yan
Chapter 16 Experiments - Rita Guerra and Sven Waldzus
Chapter 17 Quasi-experiments - Chris Fife-Schaw
Chapter 18 Using Secondary Data and Big Data - Alice Ramos, Claudia Lopes, and Luisa Lima
PART 3 Analyzing Data
Chapter 19 Content Analysis - Glynis M. Breakwell and Julie Barnett
Chapter 20 Reflexive Thematic Analysis - Virginia Braun, Victoria Clarke, Nikki Hayfield and Gareth Terry
Chapter 21 Discourse Analysis - Rusi Jaspal
Chapter 22 Descriptive Statistics - Marianna E. Carlucci, Jack K. Connors and Emalee Quickel
Chapter 23 Intervals and Null Hypotheses - Marianna E. Carlucci, Jack K. Connors, and Emalee J. W. Quickel
Chapter 24 Correlation - Jeremy Miles and Mark Shevlin
Chapter 25 Regression - Mark Shevlin and Jeremy Miles
Chapter 26 Factorial ANOVA - Katherine McGuire and Kamala London
Chapter 27 Scale Development - Sarah M. Wolff and Danielle L. Head
Chapter 28 Systematic Reviews - Gemma Cherry and Angela Boland
Chapter 29 Meta-analysis - Andy P. Field and Martina Sladekova
Chapter 30 Relationship of Data Collection and Data Analysis - Daniel B. Wright
PART 4 Evaluation and Further Developments
Chapter 31 Evaluating Research of Others - Glynis M. Breakwell
Chapter 32 Developing Research Methods - Glynis M. Breakwell, Joshua Carter, Roi Cohen Kadosh, and Daniel B. Wright
Chapter 1 Research Ethics - Julie Barnett and Daniel B. Wright
Chapter 2 Theory and Method - Glynis M. Breakwell
Chapter 3 Designing Research - Glynis M. Breakwell
Chapter 4 Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches - Daniel B. Wright
PART 2 Collecting Data
Chapter 5 Sampling - Daniel B. Wright
Chapter 6 Measurement - David J. Hand
Chapter 7 Observation - Glynis M. Breakwell
Chapter 8 Interviewing - Glynis M. Breakwell
Chapter 9 Diaries - Lauri Hyers and Dangeni Dangeni
Chapter 10 Focus Group - Korina Sotirakopoulou
Chapter 11 Ethnography and Action Research - Xenia Chryssochoou, Melina Niraki and Ioannis Ntotsikas
Chapter 12 Questionnaire Design - Chris Fife-Schaw
Chapter 13 Psychometric Methods - R. Michael Furr
Chapter 14 Psychophysiological Methods - Michiel M. Spape
Chapter 15 Survey Methods - Ting Yan
Chapter 16 Experiments - Rita Guerra and Sven Waldzus
Chapter 17 Quasi-experiments - Chris Fife-Schaw
Chapter 18 Using Secondary Data and Big Data - Alice Ramos, Claudia Lopes, and Luisa Lima
PART 3 Analyzing Data
Chapter 19 Content Analysis - Glynis M. Breakwell and Julie Barnett
Chapter 20 Reflexive Thematic Analysis - Virginia Braun, Victoria Clarke, Nikki Hayfield and Gareth Terry
Chapter 21 Discourse Analysis - Rusi Jaspal
Chapter 22 Descriptive Statistics - Marianna E. Carlucci, Jack K. Connors and Emalee Quickel
Chapter 23 Intervals and Null Hypotheses - Marianna E. Carlucci, Jack K. Connors, and Emalee J. W. Quickel
Chapter 24 Correlation - Jeremy Miles and Mark Shevlin
Chapter 25 Regression - Mark Shevlin and Jeremy Miles
Chapter 26 Factorial ANOVA - Katherine McGuire and Kamala London
Chapter 27 Scale Development - Sarah M. Wolff and Danielle L. Head
Chapter 28 Systematic Reviews - Gemma Cherry and Angela Boland
Chapter 29 Meta-analysis - Andy P. Field and Martina Sladekova
Chapter 30 Relationship of Data Collection and Data Analysis - Daniel B. Wright
PART 4 Evaluation and Further Developments
Chapter 31 Evaluating Research of Others - Glynis M. Breakwell
Chapter 32 Developing Research Methods - Glynis M. Breakwell, Joshua Carter, Roi Cohen Kadosh, and Daniel B. Wright