ABSTRACT
Alfred Kinsey’s research on sexual behaviours in the 1940s and 1950s brought about a pivotal period in sex research. It set in motion a then startling perspective on the topics and methods possible to ask large numbers of people about what they did sexually. This chapter sketches the history of Kinsey’s work and pursues some of the subsequent directions evolving at the Kinsey Institute in the USA. Specifically, the place of methods, measurement and theoretical development are highlighted. More broadly for the field, the theme of innovation and its contextual requirements is a focus of attention.
