Broadening Horizons: Interpretive Cultural Research, Hermeneutics, and Scholarly Inquiry in Physical Education

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Abstract
After outlining an interpretive or hermeneutic concept of human social life in which sociocultural phenomena are considered to be constituted in large part by mutually influential relationships between shared understandings and social interaction, the suggestion is made that the interpretive research paradigm may frequently be more appropriate than the natural science paradigm for the study of such phenomena. Therefore, physical educators who investigate activities such as education and sports, clearly major features of human social life, are urged to study these activities more holistically, guided by the interpretive cultural research model. Although this paradigm seems more appropriate in many instances for the conduct of social research, criticisms or points of contention nevertheless touch this investigative tradition. Two of the most important of these are discussed: problems concerning generalization and cultural relativism in social research, and problems related to seeking truth through interpretive cultural research. An increased interest in interpretive cultural research by physical educators would likely expand even further the scholarly diversity that already exists among us; this could enhance the breadth of thinking that might contribute to future examinations and critiques of the research methodologies useful to our field of study.

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