Carless, David

Name
Dr David Carless

Position
Senior Research Fellow, Carnegie Research Institute

Qualifications
B.A.(Ed) Physical Education, Exeter University.
M.Sc. Kinesiology, Southern Illinois University.
Ph.D. Exercise and Health Science, Bristol University.

Biography
David's professional background spans physical education, health, and the performing arts. He has worked as a primary school teacher, outdoor instructor and, more recently, a freelance researcher and educational consultant for national organisations such as the UK Sport Council and the Professional Golfer's Association. For over 20 years, David has also been an active songwriter, producing six CDs and making live appearances at festivals and clubs in the UK and USA. Since joining the Carnegie Research Institute in 2006, David has focused on conducting and disseminating multidisciplinary research in the fields of sport/physical activity, health, and education alongside research-informed teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

Research Interests
David's research interests are wide ranging and multidisciplinary. Much of his work explores the processes by which mental health, psychological well-being, and identity are developed, challenged or recovered in physical activity and sport related contexts. The theoretical foundations for this work draw on psychology, education, sociology, and the performing arts. The applied implications span interventions to promote recovery among people diagnosed with a mental health problem, approaches to support elite athlete well-being, and pedagogical innovation through the performing arts. A cornerstone to David's work is the use and development of qualitative approaches such as narrative, ethnographic, arts-informed, and performative methods.

Forthcoming Publications
Carless, D. (in press). Negotiating sexuality and masculinity in school sport: An autoethnography. Sport, Education and Society.

Carless, D. & Douglas, K. (in press). Stories as personal coaching philosophy. International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching.

Carless, D. (in press). Young men, sport and sexuality: A poetic exploration. In Dowling, F., Fitzgerald, H., & Flintoff, A. (eds.) Equity and difference in physical education, youth sport and health: A narrative approach. London: Routledge.

Carless, D., Ip, J., & Douglas, K. (in press). Ethics, care and truth in education: A pedagogical narrative inquiry. In J. Kentel (ed.) Educating the Young: The Ethics of Care. New York: Peter Lang.

Douglas, K. & Carless, D. (in press). Identity, well-being, and trauma in professional sport: A narrative perspective. In Gilbourne, D. & Andersen, M. (eds.) Critical Essays in Applied Sport Psychology. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Recent Journal Articles
Carless, D. (2010). Who the hell was that? Stories, bodies and actions in the world. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 7(4), 332-344.

Carless, D. & Douglas, K. (2010). Performance ethnography as an approach to health-related education. Educational Action Research, 18(3), 373-388.

Douglas, K. & Carless, D. (2010). Restoring connections in physical activity and mental health research and practice: A confessional tale. Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise, 2(3), 336-353.

Carless, D. & Douglas, K. (2009a). "We haven't got a seat on the bus for you" or "All the seats are mine": Narratives and career transition in professional golf. Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise, 1(1), 51-66.

Carless, D. & Douglas, K. (2009b). Opening doors: Poetic representation of the sport experiences of men with severe mental health difficulties. Qualitative Inquiry, 15(10), 1547-1551.

Douglas, K. & Carless, D. (2009a). Abandoning the performance narrative: Two women's stories of transition from professional golf. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 21(2),213-230.

Douglas, K. & Carless, D. (2009b). Exploring taboo issues in professional sport through a fictional approach. Reflective Practice, 10(3), 311-323.

Carless, D. (2008). Narrative, identity, and recovery from serious mental illness: A life history of a runner. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 5(4), 233-248.

Carless, D. & Douglas, K. (2008a). Narrative, identity and mental health: How men with serious mental illness re-story their lives through sport and exercise. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 9(5), 576-594.

Carless, D. & Douglas, K. (2008b). The role of sport and exercise in recovery from mental illness: Two case studies. International Journal of Men's Health, 7(2), 137-156.

Carless, D. & Douglas, K. (2008c). The contribution of exercise and sport to mental health promotion in serious mental illness: An interpretive project. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 10(4), 5-12.

Carless, D. & Douglas, K. (2008d). Social support for and through exercise and sport in a sample of men with serious mental illness. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 29, 1179-1199.

Carless, D. & Sparkes, A. (2008). The physical activity experiences of men with serious mental illness: Three short stories. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 9(2), 191-210.

Douglas, K. & Carless, D. (2008a). Using stories in coach education. International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching, 3(1), 33-49.

Douglas, K. & Carless, D. (2008b). Nurturing a performative self. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 9(2), Art. 23, http://www.qualitative-research.net/fqs-texte/2-08/08-2-23-e.htm.

Douglas, K. & Carless, D. (2008c). The team are off: Getting inside women's experiences in professional sport. Aethlon: The Journal of Sport Literature, XXV:I, 241-251.

Douglas, K. & Carless, D. (2008d). Training or education? Negotiating a fuzzy line between what "we" want and "they" might need. Annual Review of Golf Coaching 2008, 1-13.

Recent Books/Chapters
Carless, D. & Douglas, K. (2010). Sport and Physical Activity for Mental Health. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

Carless, D. (2010). The autoethnographic process: Starting a new story. In Muncey, T. Creating Autoethnographies (p. 132-146). London: Sage.

Long, J. & Carless, D. (2010). Hearing, listening and acting. In A. MacPhail & M. O'Sullivan (eds.), Young People's Voices in Physical Education and Sport (p. 213-225). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Carless, D. & Douglas, K. (2009). Songwriting and the creation of knowledge. In Bartleet, B. & Ellis, C. (eds.), Musical Autoethnography: Creative Explorations of the Self Through Music (p. 23-38). Queensland: Australian Academic Press.

Carless, D. (2008). Physical activity and mental health. In Kirk, D., Cooke, C., Flintoff, A., & McKenna, J. (eds.) Key Concepts in Sport and Exercise Sciences (p. 99-101). London: Sage.

Recent Invited Presentations
Carless, D. & Douglas, K. (October 2010). 'Under one roof': A performance ethnography. Invited performance at Embodiment, narrative, movement and representation: Illustrations and explorations of contemporary themes in qualitative research workshop. University of Wales Institute in Cardiff.

Carless, D. & Douglas, K. (June 2010). Drawing on the body: Songwriting and the creation of knowledge. Invited presentation at Telling tales about and through the Body: Narrative and experience-based research methods between phenomenology and social constructionism (postgraduate residential workshop), University of Copenhagen.

Carless, D. (December 2009). Exploring the relationships between narratives and bodies through a storytelling and a story analyst approach. Invited presentation on Centre for Applied Psychological Research Seminar Series, University of Huddersfield.

Carless, D. & Douglas, K. (June 2008). Storytelling through music and poetry. Invited performance at the Narrative Research in Sport and Exercise Conference, Cardiff, UK.

Funding
Evaluation of the Bristol Active Life Project. (2011) Evaluation commissioned by Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust and Bristol City Council. (With Dr K. Douglas)

In our own words: Athlete experiences of well-being and development in elite and professional sport. (2010) Public engagement presentation of research commissioned by Podium, ICSEMIS 2012, and Research Councils UK.

The performance environment: A study of the personal, lifestyle and environmental factors that affect sporting performance. (2005) Research commissioned by the UK Sports Council. (With Dr K. Douglas)

Women professional tournament golfers: A qualitative study. (2005) Research commissioned by the UK Sport Council. (With Dr K. Douglas)

Physical activity perceptions of older women living in Cornwall. (2004) Research commissioned by the Women's Sports Foundation. (With Dr K. Douglas)

Teaching

An introduction to narrative research (Master's level research methods)
An introduction to qualitative research (Master's level sport science research methods)
Stories of career transition in elite sport (Master's level sport and exercise psychology)
Arts-based research (Master's level lifelong learning)
Physical activity and mental health (Undergraduate physical activity and health)
Lifelong physical activity and mental health (Undergraduate lifelong physical activity)
Arts-informed research (Undergraduate planning for research practice)
Stories of recovery through physical activity (Master's level module in Faculty of Health)
Qualitative research methods (Master's level, University of Coimbra, Portugal)
Physical activity and mental health (Master's level, University of Coimbra, Portugal)
Performative research (Master's level, University of Exeter)
Performative research methods (Undergraduate level, York St John University)