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Qualitative Research in Sport and Physical Activity

About the Book Series

From ethnography and narrative inquiry to participatory action research and digital methods, feminist and poststructural theory to new materialism and onto-epistemologies, serious conversations about the practices, politics and philosophies of qualitative inquiry have never been stronger or more abundant in the field of sport, exercise and health. At the same time, the growth of new critical methodologies has opened up interdisciplinary space for sustained engagement with provocative questions over evidence, knowledge, and research practices. The Qualitative Research in Sport and Physical Activity series is the first of its kind within the field that has as its mandate the necessary advancement of qualitative methodologies and their intersection with theory and practice. Books in the series will develop new and innovative methodologies, serve as ‘how-to’ guides for conducting research, and present empirical research findings. It will serve the growing number of students and academics who promote and utilize qualitative inquiry in university courses, research, and applied practice.

7 Series Titles


Poststructuralist Methodologies for Physical Activity Research Theory and Practice of Foucault, Deleuze, and Latour

Poststructuralist Methodologies for Physical Activity Research: Theory and Practice of Foucault, Deleuze, and Latour

1st Edition

Forthcoming

By Pirkko Markula, Jim Denison
January 22, 2026

Drawing on the work of Foucault and Deleuze, this book opens up a new materialist approach to sport, exercise and dance research. It examines how to incorporate both material and social elements - theoretically and methodologically - to study the force of the moving body in practice. The book ...

Sport, Physical Activity, and Anti-Colonial Autoethnography Stories and Ways of Being

Sport, Physical Activity, and Anti-Colonial Autoethnography: Stories and Ways of Being

1st Edition

By Jason Laurendeau
October 09, 2024

This book offers a brief history of how autoethnography has been employed in studies of sport and physical (in)activity to date and makes an explicit call for anti-colonial approaches – challenging scholars of physical culture to interrogate and write against the colonial assumptions at work in so ...

Participatory Research in Sport and Physical Activity

Participatory Research in Sport and Physical Activity

1st Edition

Edited By Kyle A. Rich, Robyn Smith, Audrey R. Giles
July 03, 2024

This is the first book to focus on participatory research in the context of sport and physical activity. It explores the transformative potential of participatory research methods and provides an introduction to the practicalities of doing participatory research in sport and physical activity. The ...

Trauma-Informed Research in Sport, Exercise, and Health Qualitative Methods

Trauma-Informed Research in Sport, Exercise, and Health: Qualitative Methods

1st Edition

Edited By Jenny McMahon, Kerry R. McGannon
June 10, 2024

This is the first book to examine trauma research in the context of sport, exercise, and health. It outlines evidence-based, trauma-informed research practices, which qualitative researchers can use when conducting trauma research to prevent causing further harm to participants while maintaining a ...

Motherhood and Sport Collective Stories of Identity and Difference

Motherhood and Sport: Collective Stories of Identity and Difference

1st Edition

Edited By Lucy Spowart, Kerry R. McGannon
May 27, 2024

Although sport participation decreases on average for women once they become mothers, female athletes from the recreational, to the competitive, to the elite level have demonstrated that motherhood does not signal the end of sport engagement and athletic identities, or career and leadership roles. ...

Creative Nonfiction in Sport and Exercise Research

Creative Nonfiction in Sport and Exercise Research

1st Edition

Edited By Francesca Cavallerio
January 29, 2024

Academics around the world recognise the effectiveness of storytelling as a way to engage audiences in conversations, raising awareness of issues, and encouraging change. Stories are now seen as the best medium to convey information to diverse audiences. This book explores a novel approach to ...

Physical Culture, Ethnography and the Body Theory, Method and Praxis

Physical Culture, Ethnography and the Body: Theory, Method and Praxis

1st Edition

Edited By Michael D. Giardina, Michele K. Donnelly
June 07, 2019

The corporeal turn toward critical, empirically grounded studies of the body is transforming the way we research physical culture, most evidently in the study of sport. This book brings together original insights on contemporary physical culture from key figures working in a variety of disciplines,...

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