ABSTRACT
Research in the area of sport and exercise psychology has seen great advances in the past few decades. Researchers are continuing to push ahead this field of study by challenging traditional or postpositivist research approaches (see Chapters 1 and 10) with qualitative forms of inquiry that incorporate innovate and engaging processes of knowledge generation. Qualitative research in sport and exercise psychology has supported in-depth understandings of complex phenomena by highlighting multiple meanings and the lived experiences of individuals. As such, qualitative inquiry has been recognized, for some time, “as a legitimate area of scholarship within the sport and exercise sciences” (Smith & Gilbourne, 2009, p. 1). Nevertheless, when compared to the plethora of research conducted from a more postpositivist perspective, qualitative inquiry and participatory research approaches in particular are still relatively rare. Participatory research is uniquely situated as a process that can generate unique knowledge, while at the same time resulting in practical outcomes for participants. Nevertheless, participatory research approaches have yet to reach their full potential within sport and exercise psychology. I begin this chapter with a brief description of participatory research approaches and the resistance to such inquiry within sport and exercise psychology. I then outline some of the inherent characteristics of participatory research that position this form of inquiry as a relevant and necessary approach for furthering understandings in our field.
