ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the idea of ‘research’ and its characteristics, outlining some of the reasons why research is undertaken. The chapter goes on to explain the concepts of exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory research before examining the differences between pure and applied research, primary and secondary research, and theoretical and empirical research. The chapter then outlines the idea of disciplines and how they relate to sport research. A number of misconceptions about research are presented before the chapter concludes with some guidance in terms of reading academic research.
