Philosophy, qualitative methodology and sports coaching research: An unlikely trinity?

Abstract

This article presents a critical account of the relation and unlikely trinity of philosophy, qualitative methodology and sports coaching research, in order to challenge assumptions about the nature of qualitative data analysis. A more radical departure and critique from a philosophical-hermeneutic perspective is encouraged. The key argument presented is that qualitative data analysis should have less to do with ‘method’ and more with philosophy, where ‘practical reasoning’ forges a dialectical relation between the intellectual and practical in the analytical process. This argument is illustrated with reference to published empirical work in the field of sports coaching research.