Narrative analysis and sport and exercise psychology: Understanding lives in diverse ways

By Brett W. Smith, A. Sparkes. 2009

337 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract Objectives This article seeks to expand our understanding on narrative and the analysis of stories within the domain of sport and exercise psychology. Its intention is to describe, and not finalise or prescribe, what narrative analysis can be by illuminating a range of different ways in which sport and exercise psychologists might make sense of stories. Results Painting with broad strokes, some reasons as to why narrative analysis might be relevant for sport and exercise psychologists is first considered and then a description of narrative analysis is offered. Next, in order to better understand what narrative analysis can mean an original typology of different ways in which stories can be analysed is introduced. Illuminated by the typology are two contrasting standpoints toward narrative analysis—story analyst and storyteller—and three specific methods—structural, performative, and ethnodramatic creative analytic practices—that each standpoint might use to analyse the whats and hows of storytelling. Conclusion The article closes by suggesting that sport and exercise psychologists might consider using a variety of analyses in order to assist them to understand the complexities of people's lives in diverse ways.

Subfields: Developmental and Educational Psychology, Gender Studies, Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/df1e407ac65ee46deaf0745fd4b729c876ef6214

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In Developmental and Educational Psychology

In Gender Studies

In Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation

Citations in the corpus

(De)Constructing Paula Radcliffe: Exploring media representations of elite running, pregnancy and motherhood through cultural sport psychology (2012, background): “Following from this point, motherhood and athletic identities are viewed as the product of individual, social and cultural narratives which interact to create particular meanings concerning these cultural identities (McGannon & Mauws, 2000; Smith & Sparkes, 2009).”
Living, resisting, and playing the part of athlete: Narrative tensions in elite sport (2013, methodology): “(For in-depth accounts of the kinds of analytical and Narrative tensions in elite sport 9 interpretive practices we employed, see Lieblich et al., 1998; Riessman, 2008; Smith & Sparkes, 2009b).”
Narrative inquiry: ongoing conversations and questions for sport and exercise psychology research (2010, background): “…turned to interpretative forms of understanding via the use of narrative inquiry (e.g., Carless & Douglas, 2008, in press; Denison & Winslade, 2006; Leahy & Harrigan, 2006; Jowett & Frost, 2007; Phoenix & Howe, in press; Ryba, 2008; Smith & Sparkes, 2009a, 2009b, in press; Stelter, 2006, 2007).”
“All I have to do is pass”: A discursive analysis of student athletes' talk about prioritising sport to the detriment of education to overcome stressors encountered in combining elite sport and tertiary education (2014, background): “Sparkes and Smith (2009c) champion the notion of a list for assessing validity that is flexible and suited to the research question and design, rather than using fixed criteria that are to be applied across the research spectrum.”
Centralizing culture in cultural sport psychology research: The potential of narrative inquiry and discursive psychology (2015, methodology): “…goal is to add to thewider dialogue within sport psychology that encourages researchers to ask new questions and think differently, and in so doing, create new knowledge that leads to creative solutions to socio-cultural challenges in sport and physical activity contexts (Smith & Sparkes, 2009a).”
Qualitative Research in Sport Psychology Journals: The Next Decade 2000-2009 and Beyond (2012, background): “To counterbalance the tendency to focus on the ‘whats’ of interview data, Smith and Sparkes (2009a, 2009b, 2012) suggest drawing upon more unstructured and open-ended interviews so that the ‘hows’ of storytelling as well as the ‘whats’ within the interview situation can be considered.”
"In the Boat" but "Selling Myself Short": Stories, Narratives, and Identity Development in Elite Sport (2013, background): “Recently, Smith and Sparkes (2009a, 2009b) provided a thorough and convincing rationale for the inclusion of narrative methods in sport and exercise psychology and describe in detail a number of ways narrative research can make a unique contribution to the discipline.”
Sporting Spinal Cord Injuries, Social Relations, and Rehabilitation Narratives: An Ethnographic Creative Non-Fiction of Becoming Disabled Through Sport (2013, methodology): “Drawing on the results of these analyses of narrative, and recognizing that writing is a form of analysis (Richardson, 2000; Sparkes, 2002), the standpoint of a storyteller was then adopted (Smith & Sparkes, 2009).”