Speaker
Description
Objectives:
Over the last 20 years, the growing recognition of sport as an “enabler of sustainable development” has allowed S4D to emerge as a research field explored by various disciplines.
For this presentation, I give an overview of the disciplines involved in S4D, their theoretical ap-proaches and methods, as well as interconnections and debates amongst the researchers. To conclude, I will present future directions for greater interdisciplinary research in the field.
Methods:
Findings are generated from a bibliometric analysis of articles from the Web of Science. Using VOSViewer, co-keyword, co-citation and co-author analyses are run to visually map the field and identify disciplinary clusters. In addition, a narrative analysis of the publications associated with each disciplinary cluster is presented.
Findings:
The field is dominated by few names, representing specific disciplines with weak connections. Researchers with similar disciplinary backgrounds mainly stay amongst themselves. They engage various theoretical approaches in line with their disciplinary background, but cooperation is limited. Methodological debates lead back to the lack of understanding of the other discipline.
Discussion:
S4D has struggled for recognition due to its multidisciplinarity. If S4D scholars stay in disci-plinary isolation and do not move towards a common “new research agenda”, the field will be stuck in a confusing theorization process without prospects for further academic or practical development.
Conclusion:
Further development is possible if the field succeeds in evolving from multidisciplinarity to interdisciplinarity. To manage this, finding a common language and problem views as well as unifying theoretical approaches and methods are indispensable steps to take.
REFERENCES UPON REQUEST.
