Researching Difference in Sport and Physical Activity

Researching Difference in Sport and Physical Activity goes beyond the content of introductory research methods texts to provide an insight into the methodological hurdles that are experienced when researching ‘difference’ in Sport and Physical Activity.

Contributors reflect upon how the rhetoric of research methodology transfers into the reality of data collection across ‘difference’. Presenting case studies of real research projects, the book covers a range of topics, such as:

• disability in sport and physical activity
• vulnerable children in sport and physical activity
• visual research tools when working with children in a primary school setting
• physical activity, sedentary behaviour and obesity through childhood
• diverse ethnic groups in sport and physical activity settings.

Each chapter contends with practical issues of power and representation within the research process, to recognise how a researcher–participant relationship that considers those who are ‘othered’ serves to change the dynamics and processes of research.

This is an important resource for students of all sports related subjects and essential reading for anyone interested in the study of marginalised populations in sport and physical activity.