We’re excited to share that Michelle Schachtler Dwarika, a researcher in the SPRINT Project, has recently had her research protocol approved in the International Journal of Qualitative Methods!
Michelle’s work focuses on an important and often overlooked group: freelance dance artists. Her research aims to explore how mental skills training (MST) can support these artists in managing challenges and enhancing their well-being and acts as the first steps in the development of MST for dance.
Why is this topic important?
Freelance dance artists often work in highly demanding environments without the structured support systems that athletes or company-based dancers might have. Understanding their mental skills and needs is therefore key in effectively supporting them.
Three main reasons why this research essential:
Unique Challenges - Freelance dance artists juggle irregular work, financial instability, and high-performance demands, which can impact their mental well-being.
Lack of Tailored Mental Skills Training - While MST is widely used in sports and performance settings, there is no recognised programme specifically designed for freelance dance artists.
Potential for Meaningful Change - By identifying what mental skills are beneficial and how best to teach them, this research lays the foundation for a meaningful and practical MST programme tailored to the needs of freelance dance artists.
So how is Michelle conducting this research?
To understand the mental techniques, skills, and qualities that freelance dance artists find beneficial, Michelle will conduct qualitative research using semi-structured interviews. Her study follows a person-based approach (PBA) and a pragmatic stance, ensuring that the findings are directly applicable to real-world settings.
Research Process:
Recruiting Participants Michelle will use snowball sampling to recruit participants: 8 freelance dance artists and 8 psychologically informed practitioners.
Conducting Semi-Structured Interviews Participants will discuss their experiences, challenges, and the mental skills they find most useful in their work.
Analysing the Data Using reflexive thematic analysis, Michelle will then identify key themes and insights from the interviews.
Disseminating Findings The results will be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, contributing valuable knowledge to the field of performance psychology.
Stay tuned for updates on Michelle’s findings and how they might be used to create better support systems for freelance dance artists!
You can read Michelle’s full protocol in the International Journal of Qualitative Methods here.
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Written by Tasha Jordan-Dewhurst
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