Sport and Exercise Science Research
The School of Sport and Exercise Science aspires to develop and support research that is impactful, and both locally and globally recognised.
Priority areas for research development identified in the University of Worcester’s latest strategic plan include Social Exclusion, Physical Activity, Health and Wellbeing and Disability Sport. We have a broad range of ongoing research projects in these areas. For more information about ongoing research please explore the Inclusive Sport and Physical Activity, and Coaching and Performance Research Groups’ pages.
The School of Sport and Exercise Science embrace all forms of research with a focus on applied research and knowledge transfer. The School has successfully supported 17 PhD and 1 MPhil students since 2008. We have research active staff that are currently supervising 16 students registered on MPhil and PhD degrees across a wide variety of topics related to sport, exercise, physical activity, sport coaching, sociology of sport and sports science. Our research students are studying for their degrees both part and full-time. Staff are well experienced at supporting research students from a broad range of backgrounds and we have UK Council for Graduate Education recognised research supervisors. The School is always seeking to work collaboratively with a range of partners to support PhD studentships and joint projects.
If you are interested in completing a research degree with us (MPhil or PhD) or any aspect of our ongoing work and wish to discuss, engage, or commission any research or evaluation, please contact Professor Lynn Nichol at l.nichol@worc.ac.uk or Professor Győző Molnár at g.molnar@worc.ac.uk.
Latest research and publications
We publish our research findings in a range of peer-reviewed journals and specialist magazines to share our innovative ideas with the international research community.
WRaP is an online catalogue of material produced by members of the University and contains details of our articles, conference papers, book chapters and publications.
Recent publications
Mycock, D. and Molnár, G. (2021) 'The blind leading the blind' – A reflection on coaching blind football. EUJAPA. https://eujapa.upol.cz/corproof.php?tartkey=euj-000000-0145
Molnár, G. and Whigham, S. (2021) Radical Right Populist Politics in Hungary: Reinventing the Magyars through Sport. International Review for the Sociology of Sport. 56(1), doi: 10.1177/1012690219891656
Molnár, G. (2021) Sport, Labour and Migration. In: Wenner, L. (ed.), Oxford Handbook of Sport and Society. Oxford University Press
Molnár, G. and Doczi, T. (2020) A transitology of Hungarian Football. In: Rojo-Labaien, E., Rodríguez-Díaz, Á. and Rookwood, J. (eds.), Sport, Statehood and Transition in Europe: Comparative perspectives from post-Soviet and post-socialist societies. London: Routledge
Seymour, A. J. and Blakey, P. A. (2020) Digital Sport Marketing, Abingdon, Routledge
Piekarz, M., Blakey, P. A., Newbold, M. and Renfree, G. (2020) Sport Operational Management and Development, Abingdon, Routledge
Bateman, M. and Jones, G. (2019) Strategies for Maintaining the Coach-Analyst Relationship within Professional Football Utilising the COMPASS Model: The Performance Analyst’s Perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 10 (2064). ISSN Online: 1664-1078
Steward, C.J., Zhou, Y., Keane, G., Cook, M.D., Liu, Y. and Cullen, T. (2019) One week of magnesium supplementation lowers IL-6, muscle soreness and increases post-exercise blood glucose in response to downhill running. Eur J Apply Physiol, doi: .1007/s00421-019-04238-y. [Epub ahead of print]
Willems, M.E.T., Şahin, M.A., Berendsen T. and Cook, M.D. (2019) Effect of New Zealand blackcurrant extract on cycling performance and substrate oxidation in normobaric hypoxia in trained cyclists. Sports, 7(3)
Wadley, A., Keane, G., Cullen, T., James, L., Vautrinot, J., Davies, M., Hussey, B., Hunter, D.J., Mastana, S., Holliday, A., Petersen, S.V., Bishop, N.C., Lindley, M.R. and Coles, S. (2019) Characterisation of Extracellular Redox Enzyme Concentrations in Response to Exercise in Humans. Journal of Applied Physiology. ISSN Print: 8750-7587 Online: 1522-1601. http://eprints.worc.ac.uk/8271/
Francis, J., Owen, A. and Peters, D.M. (2019) A New Reliable Performance Analysis Template for Quantifying Action Variables in Elite Men’s Wheelchair Basketball. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, pp. 1–16. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00016
Francis, J.W., Owen, A. and Peters, D.M. (2019) Making every 'point' count: Identifying the key determinants of team success in elite men’s wheelchair basketball, Frontiers in Psychology, 10, pp. 1-16. doi: 10.3389/FPSYG.2019.01431
Guinan, J., Thomas, G. and Molnar, G. (2019) Women’s barriers to becoming and being a strength and conditioning coach. Women in Sport and Exercise Conference 11th - 12th June 2019, St Mary’s University Twickenham, London. WRaP link: http://eprints.worc.ac.uk/8202/
Holland, C.J., Hughes, J.D. and De Ste Croix, M.B.A. (2019) The effect of joint mobilisation treatment dose on dynamic balance in those with chronic ankle instability. Abstracts for the 24th Annual European College of Sports Science, 3-6 July 2019, Prague, Czech Republic
Holland, C.J. and Godwin, M. (2019) The metabolic demand of external load carriage in golfers: A comparison of a single versus double-strap golf bag. J Sports Med Phys Fitness
Gibson, O.R., James, C.A., Mee, J., Willmott, A.G.B., Turner, G., Hayes, M. and Maxwell, N.S. (2019) Heat alleviation strategies for athletic performance: A review and practitioner guidelines. Temperature. ISSN Print: 2332-8940, Online: 2332-8959 (In Press) https://eprints.worc.ac.uk/id/eprint/8802
Zurawlew, M., Mee, J.A. and Walsh, N.P. (2019) Post-exercise Hot Water Immersion Elicits Heat Acclimation Adaptations That Are Retained for at Least Two Weeks. Frontiers in Physiology. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2019.01080/full
Kanemasu, Y. and Molnar, G. (2019) Against All Odds: Fijiana’s Flight from Zero to Hero in the Rugby World Cup? In Harris, J. and Wise, N. (eds.), Rugby in Global Perspective: Playing on the Periphery. Oxon: Routledge
Postlethwaite, V., Kohe, G.Z. and Molnar, G. (2019) Inspiring a Generation: An examination of stakeholder relations in the context of London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics educational programmes. Managing Sport and Leisure. SI: Creating and Managing a Sustainable Sporting Future, 23(4-6)
Martín, J.J.D., Renfree, A., Fernández-Ozcorta, E.J., Torres, M. and Santos-Concejero, J. (2019) Pacing and Performance in the 6 World Marathon Majors. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living. ISSN Online: 2624-9367 (In Press)
Hanley, B., Casado, A. and Renfree, A. (2019) Lane and Heat Draw Have Little Effect on Placings and Progression in Olympic and IAAF World Championship 800 m Running. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living. ISSN Online: 2624-9367
Veen, J., Corbett, M. and Renfree, A. (2019) Maximal Sprints Within the Warm-up Does Not Affect Pacing or Performance in a 10 km Cycle Time Trial. Journal of Human Sport and Exercise. ISSN Online: 1988-5202 (In Press)
Gonzales-Mohino, F., Santos del Cerro, J., Renfree, A., Yustres, I. and González-Ravé, J.M. (2019) The Relationship Between Tactical Positioning and the Race Outcome in 800-m Running at the 2016 Olympic Games and 2017 IAAF World Championship. Journal of Human Kinetics. ISSN Print: 1640-5544 Online: 1899-7562 (In Press)
Casado, A., Moreno-Pérez, D., Larrosa, M. and Renfree, A. (2019) Different Psychophysiological Responses to a High-intensity Repetition Session Performed Alone or in a Group by Elite Middle-distance Runners. European Journal of Sport Science, 19 (8). pp. 1045-1052. ISSN Print: 1746-1391 Online: 1536-7290
Renfree, G. and Kohe, G.Z. (2019) Running the club for love: challenges for identity, accountability and governance relationships, European Journal for Sport and Society, DOI: 10.1080/16138171.2019.1623987
Thomas, G., Cullen, T., Davies, M., Hetherton, C., Duncan, B. and Gerrett, N. (2019) Independent or Simultaneous Lowering of Core and Skin Temperature Has No Impact on Self‑paced Intermittent Running Performance in Hot Conditions. European Journal of Applied Physiology. ISSN Print: 1439-6319 Online: 1439-6327
Cullen, T., Thomas, G., Wadley, A.J. and Myers, T. (2019) The effects of a single night of complete and partial sleep deprivation on physical and cognitive performance: A Bayesian analysis. Journal of Sports Sciences, pp.1-9
Vinson, D. and Parker, A. (2019) Vygotsky and sports coaching: Non-linear practice in youth and adult settings. Curriculum Studies in Health and Physical Education, 12(1), 91-106
Vinson, D., Cale, A., Christian, P., Huckle, V., Faulkner, C. and Jones, G. (2019) Investigating the value created through a selective talent and performance coach development programme. In Corsby, C. and Edwards, C.(eds.) (in press) Context and Contingency: Exploring research in sports coaching pedagogy, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Cambridge, 73-84
West, J. (2019) Research Ethics in Sport and Exercise Science. In: Iphofen, R. (eds) Handbook of Research Ethics and Scientific Integrity. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76040-7_48-1. Online ISBN 978-3-319-76040-7. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-3-319-76040-7_48-1.pdf
For more information, please visit our Worcester Research and Publications webpage.
Latest research news
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Thursday, 12 May 2022
A new monthly swim and run event is launching at the University of Worcester this weekend where participants will be able to give swim and run a go in a fun and non-competitive environment.
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Thursday, 05 May 2022
Students studying Drama and Sports Coaching at the University of Worcester came together for a special project based on real-life legal cases.
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Thursday, 28 April 2022
The Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Worcester delivered a moving and passionate speech at the 100th anniversary of the Lithuanian Basketball Federation.