RESEARCH IN SPORT an SA perspective Prof' Paul Singh

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RESEARCH IN SPORT an SA perspectiveProf. Paul
Singh

• High Performance Sport Seminar
• CSIR Convention Centre
• Pretoria
• 27-28 March 2008

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TYPES OF RESEARCH
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SA CONTEXT

• Limited resources
• Cannot invest only academic research
• Obliged to focus on applied research to improve
  practice
• Theme of 5 conferences in last decade
• From theory to practice
• Link between sport and social development
• Example SRSA MPP BSRP

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NEED FOR RESEARCH

• Present at all 3 spheres of Government
• Focus on action research
• The big problem
• Ethical issues
• Feedback to our communities
• The challenge mystification
• Obligation to translate research results into
  non-technical, simple to follow guidelines for
  practitioners

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ACTION RESEARCH

• Need for community participation
• Participative action research
• Example Dept. Sport Movement Studies at UJ
  MPP impact assessment
• Training of community leaders volunteers to
  carry out research
• Capacity building and skills transfer

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CHALLENGES

• lack of funding for research
• Lack of interest amongst academics
• Not growing our own timber
• Major concern lack of Black researchers in
  sport movement sciences
• Bridging the divide between practitioners and
  researchers in the postmodern era
• Examples DoE and physical education
• Lack of accountability to stakeholders