APPLIED COACHING RESEARCH JOURNAL 2020 , Vol . 6
Nicholls and Polman ( 2008 ) demonstrated this method to be effective for data collection within sport in a study with golfers . They used Think Aloud to identify stressors and coping strategies in high performance golfers . Since this study , further research has implemented the use of Think Aloud in sport . For example , Whitehead , et al . ( 2016 ) has used Think Aloud to identify cognitive differences between higher and lower skilled golfers . In addition , Samson et al . ( 2017 ) utilised Think Aloud to assess the in-event cognitions of longdistance runners , which also collected stressors within the study . Whitehead et al . ( 2018 ) assessed the cognitions of cyclists over a track of 16.1 kilometres using Think Aloud .
However , the technique does not come without flaws . According to Eccles ( 2012 ), descriptions / explanations can occur that are not part of the actual thought process . Also , an occurrence called verbal overshadowing can happen . This means that during Think Aloud , the participant can become distracted from actually verbalising their thoughts ( Lee et al ., 2019 ; Chin and Schooler , 2008 ). Stephenson et al . ( 2020 ) adds to this , displaying that the coach within this study experienced feelings of anxiety whilst using Think Aloud .
Despite these disadvantages , Think Aloud is a solid method of gathering data concurrently during the completion of a task and to capture data such as stressors and coping mechanisms .
Therefore , this study aims to adopt the use of Think Aloud to capture the stressors and coping mechanisms of male football coaches during a competition environment .
Methods Participants
Six male participants took part in the study , all of whom coached underage schoolboys ’ football league teams and participated in at least six hours of coaching per week ( M = 8.17 hours , SD = 1.57 ). Of the six coaches ( age : M = 27.17 , SD = 8.82 ), three were licensed ( UEFA B licence or above ) and three were non-licensed ( below UEFA B licence ). All six coaches had a Football Association of Ireland ( FAI ) coaching accreditation . Additionally , all coaches coached on a part-time or voluntary basis . Ethical consent was granted from the authors ’ institutions and all participants signed a consent form prior to data collection .
Materials
The study took place on the side of football pitches around the Leinster region of Ireland . The coaches would perform normal duties with their own team . The Olympus DM-650 digital recorders gathered real-time verbal data from participants during matches . These were placed in the participants ’ pocket , whilst the microphone was attached to their shirt collar .
Procedure
Approximately 45 minutes before the protocol , participants met with the author and executed a number of specific Think Aloud practice tasks ( see Birch and Whitehead , 2020 ). This familiarised the participants with the Think Aloud process . Participants were instructed to verbalise their thoughts and were given the following instructions : “ Please Think Aloud as much as possible ; only say what you are thinking at the time ; do not try to explain your thoughts .” During the initial Think Aloud training tasks , participants were encouraged to ask questions and then clarify their understanding of the use of Think Aloud . All Think Aloud training was conducted within 30-40 minutes of the match situation .
Data analysis
From each audio recording the first 40 minutes of the football match were used from each participant . Only the first 40 minutes were used as two participants were only willing to participate for this length of time , so this approach provided some consistency . After the data collection process , all audio files were transcribed . NVivo , a qualitative analysis software , was used to analyse the data . The study was informed by a constructivist epistemology . Although the authors believe that new knowledge is socially constructed , some of the themes have been generated from the previous knowledge of stress and coping known to the authors ( Lazarus and Folkman , 1984 ; Kaiseler et al . 2012 ). Therefore , both a deductive and inductive approach was taken during data analysis , following Braun and Clarke ’ s ( 2006 ) and Clarke and Braun ’ s ( 2013 ) approach .
To identify stressor and coping strategies , a similar process to Kaiseler et al ., ( 2012 ) was taken . This involved verbalisations that the first author
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