Talent Research in Sport 1990-2018: A Scoping Review

Several recent systematic and targeted reviews have highlighted limitations in our understanding of talent in sport. However, a comprehensive profile of where the scientific research has focused would help identify gaps in current knowledge. Our goal in this scoping review was (a) to better understa...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inFrontiers in psychology Vol. 11; p. 607710
Main Authors Baker, Joseph, Wilson, Stuart, Johnston, Kathryn, Dehghansai, Nima, Koenigsberg, Aaron, de Vegt, Steven, Wattie, Nick
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 25.11.2020
Subjects
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

Loading…
More Information
Summary:Several recent systematic and targeted reviews have highlighted limitations in our understanding of talent in sport. However, a comprehensive profile of where the scientific research has focused would help identify gaps in current knowledge. Our goal in this scoping review was (a) to better understand what others have done in the field of research (e.g., what groups have been examined using what research designs and in what areas), (b) to summarize the constituent areas of research in a meaningful way, (c) to help identify gaps in the research, and (d) to encourage future research to address these gaps. Peer-reviewed articles written in English that met several inclusion criteria were analyzed. A total of 1,899 articles were identified, and the descriptive findings revealed a relatively narrow focus of research on talent in sport. Specifically, the majority of examined articles focused on (a) males only, (b) the sport of soccer, (c) perceptual cognitive variables, (d) developing athletes, (e) adult samples, and (f) cross-sectional designs. For better or worse, the concept of talent remains a central element of how coaches, practitioners, and scientists think about athlete development. Findings from this scoping review highlight the continued need to explore issues related to talent identification, selection, and development in more diverse samples (e.g., female athletes and younger ages) and contexts (e.g., from Africa, Asia, and South America). There is also a clear necessity to focus on under-researched areas using alternative methodologies.
Bibliography:content type line 23
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
Edited by: Karen Zentgraf, Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany
This article was submitted to Performance Science, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology
Reviewed by: Urs Granacher, University of Potsdam, Germany; Andreas Arthur Hohmann, University of Bayreuth, Germany
ISSN:1664-1078
1664-1078
DOI:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.607710