About us

Sage has been independent since day one and our independence is guaranteed indefinitely. This means that for six decades we have measured success not by share price but by how we ‘build bridges to knowledge’ — helping develop ideas through the research process into scholarship that is certified, taught, and applied. Learn about Sage's history.

Sage is a global academic publisher of books, journals, and library resources with a growing range of technologies to enable discovery, access, and engagement. Believing that research and education are critical in shaping society, 24-year-old Sara Miller McCune founded Sage in 1965. Today, we are controlled by a group of trustees charged with maintaining our independence and mission indefinitely.

Our guaranteed independence means we’re:

Because we are independent, we can go beyond traditional publishing to enable a more equitable academic future and create resources that serve humanity.

For example, we support equity in higher ed through our support of groups such as Leading Routes, the PhD Project, and the Joint Council of Librarians of Color; we are active advocates of academic freedom; and we partner with groups such as the Campaign for Social Science to advocate for research funding.

We work with our customers and publishing partners – listening to their needs and creating lasting, meaningful relationships.

Resources like Sage Vantage and Sage Business Cases were created in response to faculty or library requests for resources and tools that were high-quality, simplified, and built confidence in students

We invest in resource-intensive groundwork that may not immediately yield profit, experiment, take risks, and even fail.

For example, we are committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record and have invested considerable time and resources to preventing – and correcting – dubious research practices, even when inconvenient.

Our story

With $500 in start-up capital, a one-room office in New York City, and the mentorship of her future husband George McCune, Sara Miller launched Sage’s first journal in 1965—the first of what now numbers more than 1000.

The new company, named after its founders, Sara and George, moved to Southern California in 1966, and within its first decade had established an office in London, the start of Sage’s international presence.

Sage is known for its commitment to the social sciences: the Little Green Book Series; an expansive reference collection; research methods journals, videos, and texts; and content emphasizing critical thinking, data analysis, and computational tools are all published with the aim of training current and future social scientists.

When Sara passed her shares of Sage to an independent trust, she enabled the company to invest with confidence in a mission that benefits academia and society for the long-term.

To learn more about Sara and Sage, download a free copy of Sara’s memoir Being Sage.

A brief history of Sage. Independent since 1965.

Our history

Since 1965, Sage has been committed to a mission of ‘building bridges to knowledge’ — helping develop ideas through the research process into scholarship that has genuine social impact. Explore our interactive timeline showcasing how we do this by supporting emerging fields of study in social and behavioral science, enabling research impact, creating pedagogic pathways, and advocating for critical thinking, academic freedom, and social justice.

Sara’s commitment to independence

Here, Blaise Simqu, Sage’s CEO, talks to Sara about transferring her shares of the company to the trust — guaranteeing Sage’s independence indefinitely. Sara reflects on the decision, and how it will keep Sage’s mission, vision, and values intact.

Celebrating the social & behavioral sciences

Sage has been part of the global academic community since 1965, supporting quality research that transforms society and our understanding of individuals, groups, and cultures. We are committed to working together with our publishing partners and scholarly community to support their growing needs and the dissemination of their pivotal research.

I’m proud to say that Sage is a company that advocates for policy that will enable science, especially social and behavioral science which is often underfunded, to make real-world impact. We believe that federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration should have healthy social and behavioral science programs in order to successfully implement other outcomes from the natural sciences. And we believe that in their own right, social and behavioral sciences can improve, and even save, lives
Sara Miller McCune

Research methods

As the social and behavioral sciences have increasingly built on the ‘science’ part of the name, creating a body of qualitative, quantitative and evaluative research methods has become the foundation of these disciplines’ future in the broader world. Beginning in 1972, our robust list of publications and digital resources has grown to help you at every step of your research journey, including textbooks that lay out the fundamentals of the research process, journals that highlight the latest methodological innovations, the Sage Research Methods  platform that combines a library of methods texts and original content with interactive tools to guide researchers at any level, and the online community SRM Community.

How we’ve shaped research methods

“The first words that come to mind when I think of Sage,” David Coghlan at Trinity College Dublin has said, “are leaders in advancing the theory and practice in the field of research methods.”

“Early in our history,” said Ziyad Marar, Sage’s president of global publishing, “Sara, in identifying things we could do differently from the rest of the publishing industry, recognized that research methods weren’t just something that scholars around the world do; they actually needed to be informed about it. That was a really innovative breakthrough.”

Sara Miller McCune launched the journal Sociological Methods and Research in 1972, just seven years after the launch of the company.

How Sage has shaped research methods

Companies and imprints

CQ Press

CQ Press provides the definitive reference resources for research in American government, politics, history, public policy, and current affairs.

Corwin

The premier provider of professional learning resources that equip PreK–12 educators with innovative tools to improve teaching and learning.

AM Digital

Developed by dedicated editorial teams, and through the innovative use of technology, AM Digital primary source collections bring leading archives and libraries to academic communities across the globe. Empowering students and academics to take control of their research.

Learning Matters

Learning Matters, an imprint of Sage is a leading publisher of books for professional and vocational courses in education, nursing, and social work.

IOS Press

IOS Press, now part of Sage, is an international scientific, technical, medical (STM) publishing house primarily specializing in subject areas including rehabilitation, neurology/neuroscience and engineering, as well as computer science, artificial intelligence and image processing.