Introducing the basic principles of research theory and practice, this book is the ideal starter text for any counselling trainee or practitioner learning about the research process for the first time.

Structured around common training topics, the book:

- Explains why you need to do research at all: what it is, why it′s important and its historical and philosophical context

- Guides you through the confusing mass of research literature

- Covers the ins and outs of actually doing research: practical and ethical issues

- Helps you get the most out of research - how to evaluate the outcomes and use research to investigate the process of therapy.

Written in a language familiar to first-year trainees and using a range of features to enhance learning, this accessible introduction will equip both trainees and qualified therapists with the essential nuts and bolts to understand research.

John McLeod is Emeritus Professor of Counselling at the University of Abertay Dundee and adjunct Professor at the University of Oslo, Norway.

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McLeod has a capacity to take the most complex (and sometimes potentially boring) subject and bring it to life in writing that is clear, accessible and just simply very readable...Having read this book from beginning to end, there is simply nothing bad I want to say about it. I would unquestioningly and without hesitation recommend it to any new or, indeed, experienced counselling and psychotherapy researcher and it will become, I have no doubt, a key text.