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Published VersionCC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Where do we intervene to optimize sports systems? Leverage Points the way
Journal of Sports Sciences, Vol.42(7), pp.566-573
2024
PMID: 38767324
Abstract
Sport and sports research are inherently complex systems. This appears to be somewhat at odds with the current research paradigm in sport in which interventions are aimed are fixing or solving singular broken components within the system. In any complex system, such as sport, there are places where we can intervene to change behaviour and, ideally, system outcomes. Meadows influential work describes 12 different points with which to intervene in complex systems (termed "Leverage Points"), which are ordered from shallow to deeper based on their potential effectiveness to influence transformational change. Whether research in sport is aimed at shallow or deeper Leverage Points is unknown. This study aimed to assess highly impactful research in sports science, sports nutrition/metabolism, sports medicine, sport and exercise psychology, sports management, motor control, sports biomechanics and sports policy/law through a Leverage Points lens. The 10 most highly cited original-research manuscripts from each journal representing these fields were analysed for the Leverage Point with which the intervention described in the manuscript was focused. The results indicate that highly impactful research in sports science, sports nutrition/metabolism, sports biomechanics and sports medicine is predominantly focused at the shallow end of the Leverage Points hierarchy. Conversely, the interventions drawn from journals representing sports management and sports policy/law were focused on the deeper end. Other journals analysed had a mixed profile. Explanations for these findings include the dual practitioner/academic needing to "think fast" to solve immediate questions in sports science/medicine/nutrition, limited engagement with "working slow" systems and method experts and differences in incremental vs. non-incremental research strategies.
Details
- Title
- Where do we intervene to optimize sports systems? Leverage Points the way
- Authors
- Mitchell Naughton (Corresponding Author) - University of Newcastle AustraliaPaul M Salmon - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Centre for Human Factors and Systems ScienceScott McLean - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Centre for Human Factors and Systems Science
- Publication details
- Journal of Sports Sciences, Vol.42(7), pp.566-573
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Date published
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.1080/02640414.2024.2352681
- ISSN
- 1466-447X; 0264-0414
- PMID
- 38767324
- Copyright note
- © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
- Organisation Unit
- Centre for Human Factors and Systems Science; School of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Legacy
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991029398902621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Sport Sciences