Introduction

In Chapter 1 we suggested that one of the aims of sport-related research is to advance our knowledge about sport. Unfortunately, whilst the term ‘knowledge’ may seem relatively straightforward, there are a number of issues related to what ‘knowledge’ actually is, and the means by which knowledge can be acquired. Before introducing the practicalities of sports research, and some of the issues of research design and administration, it is important to introduce some of the underlying philosophical issues. The study of the philosophy of knowledge is referred to as ontology, and the philosophical study of how such knowledge is acquired is referred to as epistemology. The ontological and epistemological positions that researchers take have important implications for the way that research is approached, notably in the type of data that is collected, how such data is collected, the way that such data can be interpreted and the conclusions that can be drawn. Although you may consider that philosophical debates may lack immediate relevance to your research project, we would suggest that an awareness of the debates within these areas is important for two reasons.