During our first week, our main task was to turn a broad community sport brief into a focused project centred on Leys Cricket Club and inequalities in participation. Because the project is intended to support a newly established community cricket initiative, we spent time thinking carefully about what our work could contribute in a practical sense. We narrowed our attention to access, belonging, and sustainable provision, with a particular focus on Blackbird Leys and Greater Leys.
A significant part of the week involved reading literature on community sport participation, barriers to cricket, sport enjoyment, and community-led development. This helped us see that participation is not shaped only by interest in sport, but also by enjoyment, confidence, friendship, skill development, and a sense of inclusion. We also explored research on the importance of local champions and collaborative partnerships, which reinforced the idea that effective sport provision needs to be community-led rather than imposed from above.
Alongside the literature, we analysed the Leys community data profile to understand the local context more clearly. The profile highlighted inequalities in health, deprivation, child poverty, and access to usable green space. This was useful because it showed that cricket provision in the area has to account for practical barriers such as affordability, transport, safety, and access to suitable space. It also helped us avoid framing the area only through disadvantage, since the Leys has important community assets as well.
By the end of the week, we had agreed our research aims, clarified our methods, and started to build the structure of the project. We also attended training in Excel and NVivo, which will support us in managing and analysing both quantitative and qualitative material. These sessions were useful in helping us begin to think about how we will organise our evidence over the next few weeks.
Overall, week one was mainly about building the foundations of the project: understanding the local context, identifying the most relevant literature, and agreeing on a research direction that is both academically useful and meaningful for Leys Cricket Club.
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Hi Farida,
Thank you for such a well-structured reflection. You clearly explain how the team has moved from a broad research brief towards a more focused and achievable project, and I particularly liked how you linked the literature to the local context rather than treating them as separate pieces of work.
I was especially pleased to see your point about avoiding framing Blackbird Leys solely through disadvantage. Recognising both the challenges and the existing strengths within a community is essential if your recommendations are going to be realistic, respectful, and genuinely useful.
As the project develops, I'd encourage you to move one step further by beginning to critically evaluate your emerging ideas rather than simply describing them. For example, when you identify barriers such as affordability, confidence or transport, ask yourself: Which of these can Leys Cricket Club realistically influence, and which require wider community partnerships or policy changes? Thinking in this way will help your recommendations become more focused and actionable.
It may also be useful to keep asking: 'What evidence will convince us that a recommendation is worth making?' The brief isn't just asking you to identify barriers to participation—it is asking you to develop practical recommendations that will help Leys Cricket Club grow as an inclusive, sustainable, community-led organisation.
In summary, this is an excellent first reflection. You demonstrate a clear understanding of both the research process and the wider purpose of the project. I'm looking forward to seeing how your analysis develops once you've met stakeholders and begun collecting evidence directly from the community.