Mixed methods in research into physical activity and sport

Abstract

Scientific methods have traditionally been based on dichotomous approaches, one of the most influential being radical opposition between quantitative and qualitative paradigms. However, the end of the twentieth century saw the emergence of mixed research methods; an approach that has since become well established and which continues to gain ground. To varying degrees, different branches of knowledge have turned to mixed research methods, with the field of physical activity and sports science being relatively slow in adopting this approach. Now, however, it is beginning to bear magnificent fruit and this paper shows how it is starting to become a reality in research into physical activity and sport. We describe the current state of mixed research methods in terms of different stages in the research process, namely: the design process, entailing a strategic empirical approach to the research issue; the data collection process, where researchers can turn to a range of methods which hitherto rivalled one another; and the data analysis process, where the options that are now available would not even have been foreseen a few years ago. There is now great potential for methodological development within the framework of mixed methods, and this paper seeks to encourage researchers to grasp this opportunity.