To be or not to be phenomenology?: that is the question

What is it about?

In this editorial for the European Journal for Sport & Society, we look at the distinctive elements of empirical / sociological phenomenology, and highlight how this tradition has often been erroneously confused with and conflated with qualitative research. Here, we want to identify the distinctiveness of phenomenology.

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Photo by Sage Friedman on Unsplash

Photo by Sage Friedman on Unsplash

Why is it important?

As editors and reviewers, we frequently and consistently see social science articles that claim to be ‘phenomenological’ or to use phenomenology, but the reasons for such claims are not always evident. Indeed, on closer reading, many such claims can often turn out to be highly problematic. It is important to consider what actually makes research phenomenological, and specifically in the case we consider, sociological phenomenological.