The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research in Sport and Physical Culture

The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research in Sport & Physical Culture is a pivotal resource that marks the next evolutionary step in the field of qualitative research within sport and physical culture. Building on decades of methodological advancements and scholarly contributions, this handbook addresses the dynamic and expanding nature of the field. It brings together a diverse group of contributors from over a dozen countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, France, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Qatar, Spain, the United States, and the United Kingdom, showcasing the international growth and vibrancy of qualitative research in this domain.

Contributors come from a wide array of disciplinary backgrounds, such as anthropology, education, health sciences, human movement and nutrition sciences, journalism and communication, kinesiology, public health, sociology, sport and exercise psychology, sport management, and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. They explore a range of traditional and emerging topics and methodologies, from feminist inquiry and Indigenous methodologies to new materialism and political ecologies, from interviewing and ethnography to arts-based methods and participatory research, and from qualitative research developments in Asia and the Middle East to studies with fan communities and Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

Organized into five parts, the handbook begins with the politics of inquiry, emphasizing the inescapable political dimensions of qualitative research including questions of reflexivity, positionality, grant funding, and co-production. It then delves into philosophies of inquiry, practices of inquiry, and sites of inquiry, and concludes with reflections and future directions. Chapters in the handbook collectively present a review of the past, a statement on the present, and a vision for the future of qualitative research in sport and physical culture.

The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research in Sport & Physical Culture is an essential resource for scholars, practitioners, and students seeking to engage with the latest developments and debates in qualitative research. It provides a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the field, equipping readers to navigate and contribute to the evolving landscape of sport and physical culture research.

Part I: The Politics of Inquiry
Part II: Philosophies of Inquiry
Part III: Practices of Inquiry
Part IV: Sites of Inquiry
Part V: Conclusions

Michael D. Giardina is Professor of Qualitative Inquiry and Physical Culture in the Department of Sport Management at Florida State University. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Kinesiology (#649) and a Research Fellow of the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport. He is the author of editor of more than 30 books including The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research (6th edition; with Norman K. Denzin, Yvonna S. Lincoln, and Gaile S. Cannella; Sage, 2023), Qualitative Inquiry in Transition--Pasts, Presents, and Futures: A Critical Reader (with Norman K. Denzin; Routledge, 2024), and the award-winning Sport, Spectacle, and NASCAR Nation: Consumption and the Cultural Politics of Neoliberalism (with Joshua I. Newman; PalgraveMacmillan, 2011). He is the editor of three qualitative research journals published by SAGE (Qualitative Inquiry; Cultural Studies?Critical Methodologies; International Review of Qualitative Research), and three book series with Routledge on qualitative methods, including the series Qualitative Research in Sport & Physical Activity (with Brett Smith). From 2015-2020 he was Editor of the Sociology of Sport Journal, and from 2020-2025 he was Director of the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry (ICQI). He can be followed on Twitter/X @mdgiardinaFSU, or found on the soccer field watching his son star as a playmaking forward on his club team.

Michele K. Donnelly is an Associate Professor of Sport Management at Brock University, Canada. She is the author of Gender Equality and the Olympic Programme (Routledge, 2023) and co-editor of Physical Culture, Ethnography, and the Body: Theory, Method, and Praxis (Routledge, 2017) and Youth Culture and Sport; Identity, Power, and Politics (with Routledge, 2007). Her work has also appeared in books such as the SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research (6th edition) and SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research Design.

Devra J. Waldman is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sport Management at Florida State University. Her research has been published in such leading journals as Progress in Human Geography, Geoforum, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, International Review for the Sociology of Sport, and Cultural Studies?Critical Methodologies.