Routledge Handbook of Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise

Brett Smith, PhD, is Professor of Physical Activity and Health in the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Birmingham, UK. His research focuses on disability, sport and physical activity. He is also interested in qualitative inquiry and its possibilities for social change. Brett is Associate Editor of Psychology of Sport and Exercise and serves actively on seven editorial boards, including the Sociology of Sport Journal and Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology. He is co-author of Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health: From Process to Product. He is also co-editor of the Routledge book series on Qualitative Research in Sport and Physical Activity. Brett is the founder and former Editor-in-Chief of the international journal Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health. Andrew C. Sparkes, PhD and professor, is currently with the Institute for Sport, Physical Activity and Leisure, at Leeds Beckett University, UK. His research interests are inspired by a continuing fascination with the ways that people inhabit and experience their bodies differently over time, and in a variety of contexts. To explore such experiences he draws on life history, ethnography, auto-ethnography and narrative approaches. Andrew is co-author of Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health: From Process to Product, and co-editor of Advances in Biographical Methods: Creative Applications, both published by Routledge.

1. Introduction: An invitation to qualitative research

(Brett Smith and Andrew C. Sparkes)

PART I: Traditions of Qualitative Research

2. Breathing in life: Phenomenological perspectives on sport and exercise

(Jacquelyn Allen-Collinson)

3. Doing grounded theory in sport and exercise

(Nicholas L. Holt)

4. Narrative Inquiry: From cardinal to marginal…and back?

(Anthony Papathomas)

5. Ethnography

(Michael Atkinson)

6. Case studies

(Ken Hodge and Lee-Ann Sharp)

7. Feminisms

(Cheryl Cooky)

8. Embarking on community-based participatory action research: A methodology that emerges from (and in) communities

(Robert J. Schinke and Amy T. Blodgett)

PART II: Collecting Qualitative Data

9. Interviews: Qualitative interviewing in the sport and exercise sciences

(Brett Smith and Andrew C. Sparkes)

10. Conducting observations in sport and exercise settings

(Holly Thorpe and Rebecca Olive)

11. Visual research methods

(Cassandra Phoenix and Emma Rich)

12. Media research: From text to context

(Brad Millington and Brian Wilson)

13. Using material objects and artifacts in research

(Kerry Chamberlain and Antonia C. Lyons)

14. Documents of life - from diaries to autobiographies to biographical objects

(Melissa Day)

PART III: Analyzing Qualitative Data

15. Using thematic analysis in sport and exercise research

(Virginia Braun, Victoria Clarke and Paul Weate)

16. Phenomenological analysis in sport and exercise

(Susanne Ravn)

17. Interpretative phenomenological analysis in sport and exercise: Getting at experience

(Jonathan A. Smith)

18. Critical discourse analysis in sport and exercise: What, why and how

(Kerry R. McGannon)

19. Conversational analysis is sport and exercise

(Amanda LeCouteur and Suzanne Cosh)

20. Narrative analysis in sport and exercise: How can it be done?

(Brett Smith)

21. Synthesizing qualitative research: Meta-synthesis in sport and exercise

(Toni L. Williams and Rachel L. Shaw)

PART IV: Representation, Evaluation and Ethics

22. In defense of realist tales

(Samantha King)

23. Creative analytical practices

(Jenny McMahon)

24. Ethics in sport and exercise research: From research ethics committees to ethics in the field

(Catherine Palmer)

25. Rethinking ‘validity’ and ‘trustworthiness’ in qualitative inquiry: How might we judge the quality of qualitative research in sport and exercise sciences?

(Shaunna Burke)

PART V: Opening Up Qualitative Research Practices in Sport and Exercise

26. Researching the senses in sport and exercise

(Andrew C. Sparkes)

27. The Web and digital qualitative methods: Researching online and researching the online in sport and exercise studies

(Andrea Bundon)

28. Pluralistic data analysis: Theory and practice

(Nicola J. Clarke, Nick Caddick and Nollaig Frost)

29. Mixed methods research in sport and exercise: Integrating qualitative research

(Kass Gibson)

30. The role of theory, interpretation and critical thought within qualitative sport and exercise research

(Tania Cassidy)

31. Teaching qualitative research

(Camilla J. Knight)

32. Knowledge, not numbers: Qualitative research and impact in sport, exercise and health

(Tess Kay)

33. Moving between worldviews: Indigenous physical cultures through Indigenous eyes

(Moss E. Norman and Michael A. Hart)

PART VI: Future Visions

34. Thinking about the future: Challenges and opportunities

(Tara-Leigh McHugh)

35. A look at the future of qualitative methodology through the prism of athlete career research

(Natalia B. Stambulova)

36. Qualitative research in search of ‘truth’ and agency: Challenges and opportunities for qualitative research

(Cora Burnett)

37. Challenges and opportunities for qualitative research: Future directions

(Michael D. Giardina)

38. Embracing the messiness of qualitative research: Challenges and opportunities for qualitative researchers in sport and exercise

(Vikki Krane)