Who Is Research For?

There is a lot of research being conducted in Adapted Physical Activity and Adapted Physical Education — but how much of it actually reaches practitioners?

The survey has closed

Thank you to everyone who took part in Who Is Research For? We're crunching the data now. Keep an eye out for the prize winner, the results, and our recommendations for bringing research and practice closer together.

What the survey covered

• About you — role, years of experience, professional setting, country.
• Accessing research — how often professionals read peer-reviewed work, how confident they are finding it, and what gets in the way.
• Where you actually learn — journals, colleagues, conferences, podcasts, social media, AI tools, and which single source most influences practice.
• From research to reality — whether a study has changed practice, how easy findings are to translate, and which formats people would actually engage with.
• Practice to research — how connected research and practice feel, and how practitioners might contribute to future studies.
• Who is research for? — what researchers could do differently, and the questions practitioners wish someone would investigate.

Why this matters

The purpose of this project is not to criticize researchers or practitioners. It is to better understand what happens between producing knowledge and using it in the real world.

Research can inform practice. Practice can inform research. Understanding both sides may help us build a stronger connection between them.

The prize

Everyone who completed the survey was entered into the draw for this bag of adapted equipment from the Just Adapt It store.

▶ Watch: inside the adapted equipment giveaway bag