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.
Sport, Urban Neoliberalism, and the Politics of Homelessness: The Uses of Running
1st Edition
By Bryan C. Clift
April 07, 2026
This book explores the 21st century practices of using sport and physical activity to engage with social issues and inequalities. Based on two years of ethnographic research exploring and contextualizing one not-for-profit organization, Back on My Feet, which uses running to empower those ...
Poststructuralist Methodologies for Physical Activity Research: Theory and Practice of Foucault, Deleuze, and Latour
1st Edition
By Pirkko Markula, Jim Denison
January 22, 2026
Drawing on the work of Foucault, Deleuze, and Latour, this book opens up a poststructuralist approach to sport, exercise, and dance research. It examines how to incorporate both articulable expression and visible material elements – theoretically and methodologically – to study the force of the ...
Trauma-Informed Research in Sport, Exercise, and Health: Qualitative Methods
1st Edition
Edited
By Jenny McMahon, Kerry R. McGannon
October 27, 2025
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 ...
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
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 ...
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
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 ...
Digital Qualitative Research in Sport and Physical Activity
1st Edition
Edited
By Andrea Bundon
February 25, 2020
Twitter, Facebook, online forums, blogs and websites – scholars are increasingly turning to digital sources to study sport and physical activity. These platforms have generated new digital content ripe for analysis and are making it possible to investigate communities that were previously ...
Sport, Politics and the Charity Industry: Running for Water
1st Edition
By Kyle Bunds
February 25, 2020
Sport is commonly used by charities and philanthropic organisations as a way of acquiring donors and fundraisers. In this ground-breaking study, Kyle Bunds examines the nexus of sport, politics and the charity industry through an investigation of water development agencies that raise funds in the ...
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,...