Research Methods in Outdoor Studies

Over the last two decades Outdoor Studies has emerged as an innovative and vibrant field of study. This is the first book to offer a comprehensive appraisal of established and cutting-edge research methods as applied to Outdoor Studies. Covering qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods, the book examines key methodologies, themes and technologies such as digital research, mobile methodologies, ethnography, interviews, research design, research ethics and ways of disseminating research. Featuring contributions from leading researchers from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, this is an essential text for any Outdoor Studies course or for researchers looking for innovative and creative research techniques.

Barbara Humberstone is Professor of Sociology of Sport and Outdoor Education at Buckinghamshire New University, UK, and Visiting Professor at Plymouth Marjon University, UK. She is also Editor-in-chief of the Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning. Her research interests include: Embodiment, alternative/ nature-based physical activities and life-long learning, wellbeing and outdoor pedagogies, and social and environmental justice. Heather Prince is Professor at the University of Cumbria, UK. She is interested in pedagogic practice in outdoor and environmental education, including the design of higher education courses and support for research programmes, students and staff. Her research interests are in school-based outdoor learning, sustainability and adventure. She is Associate Editor of the Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning and Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK.

Introduction, Part I: Conceptualising and initiating the research process, 1. Entangled philosophical and methodological dimensions of research in outdoor studies? Living with(in) messy theorisation, 2. Ethical issues and practicalities in outdoor studies research, 3. Designing effective research projects in outdoor studies, Part II: Qualitative methodologies - choosing an appropriate approach, 4. Phenomenological approaches to research in outdoor studies, 5. A critical examination of the place of interviews in outdoor studies research, 6. Methods and techniques for capturing empirical material from experiences and stories in outdoor spaces and places, 7. Mobilising research methods: Sensory approaches to outdoor and experiential learning research, 8. Capturing complexity and collaborative emergence through case study design: An ecosocial framework for researching outdoor sustainability education practice, 9. Ethnographic research in outdoor studies, 10. Autoethnography: Creating stories that make a difference, 11. Thinking the social through myself: Reflexivity in research practice, 12. Finding my professional voice: Autobiography as a research method for outdoor studies, Part III: Contemporary creative qualitative methods, 13. Creative nonfiction in outdoor studies, 14. Shared-story approaches in outdoor studies: The HEAR (Hermeneutics, Auto/Ethnography and Action Research) 'listening' methodological model, 15. Digital narrative methodology and multisensory outdoor ethnography, 16. Practising feminist reflexivity: Collaborative letter writing as method, 17. Post-qualitative inquiry in outdoor studies: A radical (non-)methodology, 18. Together along the way: Applying mobilities through praxis in outdoor studies field research, 19. Mobile methods in outdoor studies: Walking interviews with educators, 20. Sensing the outdoors through research: Multisensory, multimedia, multimodal and multiliteracy possibilities, 21. Representing experience: Creative methods and emergent analysis, Part IV: Quantitative and mixed methods, 22. Deriving metrics and measures in outdoor research, 23. Scientific investigations in outdoor environments, 24. Mixed methods research in outdoor studies: Paradigmatic considerations, 25. Mixed methods research in outdoor studies: Practical applications, 26. Quantitative analyses of small samples with complex data-structures, Part V: Disseminating, communicating and sharing research, 27. Publishing and disseminating outdoor studies research, 28. Research hubs: The theory-practice nexus, 29. Knocking on doors in the policy corridor - can research in outdoor studies contribute to policy change? A professional narrative on shaping educational policy and practice in Scotland