Doing Research in Sport and Exercise

Dr Mark F Smith is both an Associate Professor within the School of Sport and Exercise Science and Director of Education within the College of Social Science at the University of Lincoln, UK. Mark holds British Association for Sport and Exercise Sciences Accreditation for pedagogy (Teaching and Learning) having previously held it for over a decade for Sport Science consultancy activity. As a sport scientist with more than 25 years’ experience, Mark has worked with a wide range of performers and teams. He has published research in a range of leading international scientific publications and has been on International Editorial Boards for Sport and Exercise science-related research. As a qualified teacher, Mark has taught many aspects of sport science and research methods across a broad range of educational settings for over two decades. His previous textbooks in Research Methods in Sport and Golf Science have a global audience with the latter having been translated into six languages. He has been an external examiner and educational advisor at a wide range of educational institutions both at home and aboard.

A friendly introduction to key elements of the research process, this book covers many approaches to research and includes topics not covered in similar texts.  Examples give application to the concepts addressed. Easy access to sections most useful for particular projects and references to further reading and published research consolidate particular points.

• Part I: Mapping your research journeyChapter 1: The context of sport and exercise researchChapter 2: Getting started - the research processChapter 3: Managing yourself through a research projectChapter 4: Working with your supervisorPart II: Starting your research projectChapter 5: Generating ideas and developing questionsChapter 6: Reviewing the literature (why, when and how?)Chapter 7: Developing a research proposalChapter 8: Working safely and effectively – a matter of ethicsPart III: Selecting your research approachChapter 9: Selecting an appropriate research strategyChapter 10: Systematic review research strategyChapter 11: Experimental research strategyChapter 12: Correlational research strategyChapter 13: Case study research strategyChapter 14: Survey research strategyChapter 15: Ethnographic research strategyChapter 16: A mixed-research design approachPart IV: Choosing your data collection methodsChapter 17: Recruiting and involving participants in researchChapter 18: ‘Clinical’ data collection methodsChapter 19: ‘Observational’ data collection methodsChapter 20: ‘Questionnaire’ data collection methodChapter 21: ‘Focus group’ data collection methodChapter 22: ‘Interview’ data collection methodsChapter 23: ‘Content and discourse analysis’ methodsPart V: Analysing and presenting your research findingsChapter 24: Collecting, storing and organising your dataChapter 25: Analysing your dataChapter 26: Preparing data for presentationChapter 27: Writing-up and disseminating your research project