Qualitative research as a form of scientific inquiry in sport and physical education

Abstract

Qualitative research includes a family of loosely related inquiry traditions rooted in psychology, sociology, and anthropology. Each differs in origins, assumptions, central questions, and methods. They are united at a deeper paradigmatic level, however, by a shared view of the nature of the world which distinguishes all qualitative research traditions from the conventional natural science model of inquiry in the domains of education, sport, and exercise. This divergence of world view is illustrated by how scientists using qualitative and conventional designs would respond to the query, "How do you know?" There, qualitative traditions yield distinctly different perspectives on questions about the social world. Despite both heuristic power and great promise for application in sport and physical education, however, unresolved questions and troublesome concerns remain. Active scholars, editors, reviewers, and research consumers will control the future for qualitative research and all must stretch to accommodate an unfamiliar way of knowing.