Quantifying expert athlete knowledge

• Published in: Journal of applied sport psychology 1992-03, Vol.4 (1), p.10-26
• Main Authors: Russell, Storm J., Salmela, John H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1041-3200; 1533-1571
• DOI: 10.1080/10413209208406446

Recent research in sport psychology has focused on the role of the athlete's knowledge base in defining high-level sport performance. However, few studies have attempted to examine this knowledge directly, largely because of the methodological challenges involved (Allard & Burnett, 1985). One effective approach to investigating expertise in other domains has been to examine ways in which experts sort and categorize domain-related problems, and the bases on which these categories are formed. Problem-sorting methodologies are difficult to apply in the sport context, however, because sport performance problems are generally ill-defined. The present paper describes a methodological approach designed to identify and quantify problems which define an athlete's working knowledge of a given sport, as well as the criteria athletes use to cognitively organize their knowledge of these problems. This approach combines qualitative methods, such as structured interviewing and card-sorting techniques, with repertory grid and multidimensional scaling statistical procedures. The data of an elite male cyclist were presented to illustrate how these methods might be applied in sport settings.