Writing and representing research

This chapter considers representation in sports coaching research. Thesis guidelines and marking criteria tend to stipulate rigid structural requirements, whereby students have to produce theses containing chapters in a predefined order. In comparison to realist tales, confessional tales are highly personalized accounts of the research process. The work of Laura Purdy and Jones is arguably an example of a confessional tale within sports coaching research. At the present time, there are relatively few instances of fictionalized representation. The duel crisis of representation and legitimization required a reconsideration of the way in which qualitative studies should be evaluated. It is important to note that the examples provided are merely illustrative of characteristics of alternative representational and writing practices for the purpose of critical reflection and to open a space for dialogue. According to Andrew C. Sparkes it has been argued that poetic representation is well placed to retell lived experience and can be an evocative form of communication.