Complexity and nuance in latest Society awards

The winners of the 2022 BPS Presidents' Award and Book Awards have been announced – with one psychologist winning two. Dr Victoria Clarke (University of the West of England), an Associate Professor in Qualitative and Critical Psychology, has received the President's Award and, along with co-author and collaborator Professor Virginia Braun (University of Aukland), has also won the 2022 BPS Book Award in the textbook category for their book Thematic Analysis: A practical guide. 

Clarke's thesis research on the social construction of lesbian and gay parenting coincided with the founding of the Lesbian and Gay Psychology Section of the BPS (now named the Psychology of Sexualities Section), and her early career work was in the rapidly growing field of LGBTQ+ psychology. The focus of Clarke's work shifted to qualitative methodology after a paper she wrote with Braun outlining a new approach to thematic analysis became widely cited and influential in psychology. 

Clarke's latest research is focused on physical disability in relation to sexuality, relationships and clothing, and body, prompted by her own experience of multiple sclerosis. She said she was delighted to win the Presidents' Award and was grateful to those involved in nominating her – particularly Professor Lindsay O'Dell. 

'As a qualitative psychologist, it is particularly gratifying to receive recognition from the BPS, as a core part of my work has been promoting and developing qualitative research methods. For the last two decades, my main focus has been developing a thematic analysis method with my friend and colleague Professor Virginia Braun, as well as writing, teaching and communicating about qualitative research methods more broadly. Our mission is to demystify qualitative research, to make it accessible, and to support students and researchers in doing high quality qualitative research, and this award is a real validation for the work we have put in.'

Braun and Clarke said they were delighted to win the Book Award for their textbook – a work they described as a 'labour of love'. '[The book] represents the culmination of over a decade of writing and thinking about and teaching thematic analysis. In this book, we tried to make qualitative research as accessible as possible while not sacrificing complexity and nuance. We've been so thrilled to hear from readers that the book has really helped them get to grips with thematic analysis. As qualitative psychologists, we are also thrilled that our corner of psychology is receiving this type of recognition from the BPS.'

David Robson's book The Expectation Effect: How your mindset can transform your life won a BPS Book Award in the popular science category. Robson's writing on the psychology of misinformation and risk communication during the Covid-19 pandemic has previously won awards from the Association of British Science Writers and the UK Medical Journalists' Association. 

On winning the BPS Book Award, Robson said 'Our mindsets can influence everything from patients' responses to a new therapy to our experiences of exercising, dieting and coping with stress. With The Expectation Effect, my aim was to bring cutting-edge psychological research to a broad audience, while doing justice to the complexities of the science. I am delighted and immensely grateful for this recognition from the BPS.'

Find out more about the Presidents' Award.

Nominations for the 2023 BPS Book Award will open in March – find more information about the award and its previous winners.