There is a long tradition of debates on how to address the quality and rigour of qualitative research. In sport and exercise psychology (SEP), the relativist perspective has been the dominant viewpoint in these debates.

In the absence of published critiques of the relativist perspective in SEP, Drs Ronkainen and Wiltshire wrote a paper Rethinking validity in qualitative sport and exercise psychology research: a realist perspective. They argued that the relativist approach becomes problematic when attempting to reject the “anything goes” problem because of the assumptions of internal, multiple, and mind-dependent realities. Drawing on realist literature in other fields of social science, they proposed using realist principles of ontological plausibility, empirical adequacy and practical utility in working with threats to validity.

The podcast episode provides an overview of the debate, arguments of the paper, and the story behind the writing. 

Dr Gareth Wiltshire is a lecturer at Loughborough University with broad interests related to the social determinants of health. His work is largely informed by concepts and theories derived from sociology but is proactive in engaging with researchers, practitioners and ideas across different disciplines such as medicine, education, psychology, philosophy, social marketing and behavioural science. He has specialist knowledge in qualitative research having utilised a range of ethnographic, interview and visual methods in the past. You can find out more about Gareth's work on his personal website.

Dr Noora Ronkainen is one of the hosts of the Physical Activity Researcher Podcast and creator of Meaningful Sport. She is a senior researcher the University of Jyväskylä and works a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions research fellow in a project "Learning and Being in Sport: A Phenomenological Investigation".