Research Methods In Sports Coaching

Research Methods in Sports Coaching is a key resource for any student, researcher or practitioner wishing to undertake research into sports coaching. It takes the reader through each phase of the research process, from identifying valuable research questions, to data collection and analyses, to the presentation and dissemination of research findings. It is the only book to focus on the particular challenges and techniques of sports coaching research, with each chapter including examples, cases and scenarios from the real world of sports coaching. The book introduces and explores important philosophical, theoretical and practical considerations in conducting coaching research, including contextual discussions about why it’s important to do sports coaching research, how to judge the quality of coaching research, and how sports coaching research might meet the needs of coaching practitioners. Written by a team of leading international scholars and researchers from the UK, US, Canada and Australia, and bridging the gap between theory and practice, this book is an essential course text for any research methods course taken as part of a degree programme in sports coaching or coach education.

Modern techniques of sports performance analysis enable the sport scientist, coach and athlete to objectively assess, and therefore improve upon, sporting performance. They are an important tool for any serious practitioner in sport and, as a result, performance analysis has become a key component of degree programmes in sport science and sports coaching. Research Methods for Sports Performance Analysis explains how to undertake a research project in performance analysis including: selection and specification of a research topic the research proposal gaining ethical approval for a study developing a performance analysis system testing a system for reliability analysing and discussing data writing up results. Covering the full research cycle and clearly introducing the key themes and issues in contemporary performance analysis, this is the only book that sports students will need to support a research project in performance analysis, from undergraduate dissertation to doctoral thesis. Including case studies, examples and data throughout, this book is essential reading for any student or practitioner with an interest in performance analysis, sports coaching or applied sport science.

This comprehensive, accessible and practical textbook provides a complete grounding in both qualitative and quantitative research methods for the sports studies student. The book offers the reader a step-by-step guide to the research process, from designing a research project, to collecting and analyzing data, to reporting the research, and is richly illustrated throughout with sport-related case-studies and examples from around the world. Now in a fully revised and updated new edition, the book covers key topics such as: choosing an appropriate research design undertaking a literature review key research techniques, including questionnaires, interviews, content analysis and ethnographic studies data analysis, including an introduction to SPSS, as well as guides to descriptive and inferential statistics writing a research report ethical issues in sports research. Research Methods in Sports Studies is designed to be a complete and self-contained companion to any research methods course and contains a wealth of useful features, such as highlighted definitions of key terms, revision questions, practical research exercises, and a companion website with web links, multiple choice questions, powerpoint slides, and other learning resources. The book is also an invaluable reference for any student undertaking a dissertation or research project as part of their studies. Visit the companion website at: www.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415493932

This is the first research methods book to focus entirely on physical education and youth sport. It guides the reader through the whole research process; from the first steps to completion of a dissertation or practice-based project, and introduces key topics such as: formulating a research question qualitative approaches quantitative approaches mixed method research literature review case studies survey, interviews and focus groups data analysis writing the dissertation. Each chapter includes a full range of useful pedagogical features, including chapter summaries, practical activities, case studies, dialogues with active researchers and guidance on further reading and resources. With contributions from some of the world’s best-known researchers in the field, this book is indispensible reading for all students and professionals working in physical education, youth sport, sports coaching and related subjects.

Research shapes our understanding of practice in powerful and important ways, in sports coaching as in any other discipline. This innovative study explores the philosophical foundations of sport coaching research, examining the often implicit links between research process and practice, descriptions and prescriptions. Arguing that the assumptions of traditional single-disciplinary accounts, such as those based in psychology or sociology, risk over-simplifying our understanding of coaching, this book presents an alternative framework for sports coaching research based on critical realism. The result is an embedded, relational and emergent conception of coaching practice that opens new ways of thinking about coaching knowledge. Drawing on new empirical case study research, it demonstrates vividly how a critical realist-informed approach can provide a more realistic and accountable knowledge to coaching stakeholders. This knowledge promises to have important implications for coaching, and coach education and development practices. Sport Coaching Research and Practice: Ontology, Interdisciplinarity and Critical Realism is fascinating reading for any student or researcher working in sports coaching, sport pedagogy, physical education, the philosophy or sociology of sport, or research methodology in sport and exercise.

The internet and digital technologies have transformed sport and the way that we research sport, opening up new ways to analyse sport organisations, fan communities, networks, athletes, the media, and other key stakeholders in the field. This engaging and innovative book offers a complete introduction to online research methods in sport studies, guiding the reader through the entire research process, and bringing that process to life with sport-related cases and examples. Covering both qualitative and quantitative methods, the book introduces key topics such as generating a research idea, implementing the research design, maintaining good ethical standards, and collecting, analysing and presenting data. It explains how to conduct online surveys, online interviews, and online ethnography in practice, and every chapter contains individual and group activities to encourage the reader to engage with real online research, as well as further reading suggestions to help them develop their knowledge. Online Research Methods in Sport Studies is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students, academics, and researchers with an interest in sport studies, and is a useful reference for practitioners working in sport or sport media who want to improve their professional research skills.

What are the challenges and potential pitfalls of real research? What decision-making process is followed by successful researchers? The Research Process in Sport, Exercise and Health fills an important gap in the research methods literature. Conventional research methods textbooks focus on theory and descriptions of hypothetical techniques, while the peer-reviewed research literature is mainly concerned with discussion of data and the significance of results. In this book, a team of successful researchers from across the full range of sub-disciplines in sport, exercise and health discuss real pieces of research, describing the processes they went through, the decisions that they made, the problems they encountered and the things they would have done differently. As a result, the book goes further than any other in bringing the research process to life, helping students identify potential issues and problems with their own research right at the beginning of the process. The book covers the whole span of the research process, including: identifying the research problem justifying the research question choosing an appropriate method data collection and analysis identifying a study’s contribution to knowledge and/or applied practice disseminating results. Featuring real-world studies from sport psychology, biomechanics, sports coaching, ethics in sport, sports marketing, health studies, sport sociology, performance analysis, and strength and conditioning, the book is an essential companion for research methods courses or dissertations on any sport or exercise degree programme.

Research Methods in Sports Coaching is a key resource for any student, researcher or practitioner wishing to undertake research into sports coaching. It takes the reader through each phase of the research process, from identifying valuable research questions, to data collection and analyses, to the presentation and dissemination of research findings. It is the only book to focus on the particular challenges and techniques of sports coaching research, with each chapter including examples, cases and scenarios from the real world of sports coaching. The book introduces and explores important philosophical, theoretical and practical considerations in conducting coaching research, including contextual discussions about why it’s important to do sports coaching research, how to judge the quality of coaching research, and how sports coaching research might meet the needs of coaching practitioners. Written by a team of leading international scholars and researchers from the UK, US, Canada and Australia, and bridging the gap between theory and practice, this book is an essential course text for any research methods course taken as part of a degree programme in sports coaching or coach education.