Methodological issues in qualitative sport research: Participant observation among hockey players

Although reflexive descriptions of field research experiences are well represented in the literature, there are very few explicit accounts of doing fieldwork among athletes. This paper is a natural history of a participant observation study conducted among a group of minor league hockey players. Its purpose is to provide future sport ethnographers with an account of some field strategies and techniques that were successful, as well as a description of those strategies and techniques that were not. The paper is divided into four sections around which most field experiences may be coordinated: gaining entry; learning the ropes; establishing trust and rapport; and leaving the setting.