Abstract

What is cutting edge in research methodologies in one discipline may be either unacceptable or thought of as ordinary in others. Approaches to understanding and making sense of material and social phenomena are changing continuously through critical reflection and practice. In outdoor studies, there is a variety of methodological approaches influenced by various schools of thought. We are not concerned here with research from positivistic perspectives using quantitative methodologies. There is insufficient space here. Certainly, as Sparkes and Smith (2014, p. 1) point out, there is considerable growth in qualitative forms of research across ‘psychology . . . and social and health sciences’, disciplines from which outdoor studies draws and that, reciprocally, can be informed by credible research from outdoor studies’ fields.