Collaborative self-study: Lessons from a study of wearable fitness technology and physical activity

Abstract

While researchers in related disciplines have embraced and benefited from use of unconventional contemporary qualitative research methods extending beyond interviews and case studies, sport management researchers largely have not thus far. The purpose of this article is to encourage greater use of collaborative self-study (autoethnography and self-ethnography) within sport management research. Based on our experience with a collaborative self-study research project examining the influence of wearable fitness technology on physical activity, we explore key methodological considerations focusing on the ethics of self-study, and the benefits, challenges, and opportunities associated with employing this underutilized qualitative method in sport management research. Collaborative self-study offers the opportunity to address questions and examine sport phenomena from perspectives rarely addressed by traditional approaches. Through reviewing collaborative self-study, we provide guidance for sport management researchers and encourage researchers to consider this method in their future projects.