1st Edition

Qualitative Research Methods in Sport, Exercise and Health From Process to Product

By Andrew C. Sparkes, Brett Smith Copyright 2014
    288 Pages
    by Routledge

    288 Pages
    by Routledge

    Qualitative forms of inquiry are a dynamic and exciting area within contemporary research in sport, exercise and health. Students and researchers at all levels are now expected to understand qualitative approaches and be able to employ them in their work. In this comprehensive and in-depth introductory text, Andrew C. Sparkes and Brett Smith take the reader on a journey through the entire qualitative research process that begins with the conceptualization of ideas and the planning of a study, moves through the phases of data collection and analysis, and then explains how findings might be represented in various ways to different audiences. Ethical issues are also explored in detail, as well as the ways that the goodness of qualitative research might be judged by its consumers.

    The book is based on the view that researchers need to make principled, informed and strategic decisions about what, why, when, and how to use qualitative forms of inquiry. The nature of qualitative research is explained in terms of both its core assumptions and what practitioners actually do in the field when they collect data and subject it to analysis. Each chapter is vividly illustrated with cases and examples from published research, to demonstrate different qualitative approaches in action and their relative strengths and weaknesses. The book also extends the boundaries of qualitative research by exploring innovative contemporary methodologies and novel ways to report research findings.  Qualitative Research Methods in Sport, Exercise and Health is essential reading for any student, researcher or professional who wishes to understand this form of inquiry and to engage in a research project within a sport, exercise or health context.

    Introduction  Chapter 1 - What is Qualitative Research?  Chapter 2 - Traditions in Qualitative Research  Chapter 3 - Getting Started with Some Pre-study Tasks  Chapter 4 - Data Collection  Chapter 5 - Qualitative Analysis  Chapter 6 - Representing Qualitative Findings  Chapter 7 - Judging the Quality of Qualitative Research  Chapter 8 - Ethical Issues in Qualitative Research  Chapter 9 - Brief Reflections

    Biography

    Andrew C. Sparkes is Professor of Sport, Physical Activity and Leisure in the Research Institute for Sport, Physical Activity and Leisure at Leeds Metropolitan University, UK..

    Brett Smith is Reader in Qualitative Health Research within the Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport at Loughborough University, UK. He is Editor-in-Chief of the journal Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health.