GO-ALONG INTERVIEWS

Abstract

Go-along interviews (a.k.a. “walk-along” or “ride-along” interviews) are a participatory data collection method that combines interviews with ethnographic observations at the same time and in the same space of the phenomenon under investigation. This makes go-along interviews ideal for capturing embodied knowledge in sport and physical activity research because the data collected speak to how people move and use their bodies in particular spaces, as well as how people experience bodily sensations therein. In this chapter, I will first trace the emergence of go-along interviews, outlining foundational contributions. I will then describe how to employ go-along interviews in qualitative, participatory sport and physical activity research, citing examples from my own work using go-along interviews in a study of group fitness for older exercisers and that of other scholars. I then critically discuss some of the key ethical considerations and tensions when employing go-along interviews, including those related to participant confidentiality and duty to disclose research activity to others occupying the same spaces, and go-along interviews involving intimate and vulnerable spaces such as change-rooms.