The Challenge of Applying and Undertaking Research in Female Sport

Stacey Emmonds,Omar Heyward,Ben Jones

doi:10.1186/s40798-019-0224-x

Abstract

In recent years there has been an exponential rise in the professionalism and success of female sports. Practitioners (e.g., sport science professionals) aim to apply evidence-informed approaches to optimise athlete performance and well-being. Evidence-informed practices should be derived from research literature. Given the lack of research on elite female athletes, this is challenging at present. This limits the ability to adopt an evidence-informed approach when working in female sports, and as such, we are likely failing to maximize the performance potential of female athletes. This article discusses the challenges of applying an evidence base derived from male athletes to female athletes. A conceptual framework is presented, which depicts the need to question the current (male) evidence base due to the differences of the “female athlete” and the “female sporting environment,” which pose a number of challenges for practitioners working in the field. Until a comparable applied sport science research evidence base is established in female athletes, evidence-informed approaches will remain a challenge for those working in female sport.

Highlights

In recent years there has been an exponential rise in the professionalism and profile of female sports [1]
While in recent years more female participants are included within the research literature, these studies typically involve recreational athletes [3], and as such high-performance female athletes are typically underrepresented in the “sports performance” literature
Due to the dearth in female-specific sport science literature, in most cases there is a clear need to start with descriptive research to understand the current level of performance within female elite sport

Summary

Key Points

There is currently a lack of sport science and sport medicine research conducted on elite female athletes, making it challenging to develop an evidence-informed approach to practice. Applying evidence developed in male athletes to female athletes may be erroneous. This article highlights the challenges of applying evidence derived from male athletes and applying it to female athletes and female sporting contexts. It provides considerations of how to apply research to female sport, considering the female athlete and the female sporting environment

Introduction

Conclusion

Findings

Availability of Data and Materials Not applicable