Doing Real World Research in Sports Studies

Traditional research methods textbooks tend to present an idealised and simplistic picture of the research process. In this groundbreaking text, leading international sport researchers explain the reality of doing research in sport, highlighting the practical day-to-day problems, pitfalls, difficulties and setbacks that are a normal part of the research process. The book focuses on ten pieces of real research that have made a distinctive and valuable contribution to the study of sport. For each piece the author of that research explains how the research was conducted, the problems they faced, and the solutions that enabled them to overcome those problems. In addition, for each piece a leading sport scholar explains why that research is regarding as being an important contribution to the discipline of sport studies and therefore why and how that research can inform the work of students and professional researchers. Practical research issues covered in the book include: problems of securing funding difficulties of obtaining access to informers or interviewees difficulties with sponsors or funding sources threats to personal integrity or physical safety of researchers good luck, bad luck and serendipitous findings problems of coordination and control in large scale research projects changes in research objectives disagreements within the research team dealing with favourable and hostile media reaction to research findings. Doing Real World Research in Sport Studiesenables students and researchers to deepen their understanding of the research process, to develop their problem-solving skills, and to embark on a research project much better prepared than if they had only read the kind of textbook that focuses on technical skills. It should therefore be essential reading for any research methods course.