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Final draft of my dissertation’s feedback has been returned! The feedback was very constructive and helpful for me. My biggest aim right now is linking my literature review better to my findings/discussion section, as when I look at it now there’s a disconnect between the two sections. There are also things I must do, including structuring my findings/discussion better by organising my themes (and sub-themes) better. Feedback from chris told me to fully label them (e.g main theme 1, sub theme 1, sub theme 2, main theme 2, sub theme 2 etc.) I also must improve my abstract by adding keywords to it, my methodology by justifying my thematic analysis choice, and also adding a table for the coaches I interviewed, whilst anonymising them fully. My conclusion must also be improved by answering my research question properly and referencing. I now have a week to polish everything, a lot of hard work but it will be worth it! Submission date is the 16th

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I have now secured 4 interviews with coaches at professional clubs (aiming for 6-8). One of the coaches works at Arsenal, which is great! They also said they will attempt to get me more interviews with other coaches they can find. All of the interviews I've secured have been from connections I already have and emailing them my interest in interviewing them. I have attempted to email a few other Premier League clubs but have gotten no responses. No set dates for the interviews yet, will follow up with them soon.

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Crafting a timeline for my dissertation sections (e.g., Methods -1000 words, Findings/Disc -3300), setting deadlines, and drafting the interview questions. Scheduling interviews for completion by mid-April. Extended dissertation deadline to 30 May 2025 due to my broken hand. Timeline to be uploaded post-27 March meeting with Chris. Methodology started!

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First interview is being conducted today. This individual has 5 different roles in football, helping social inclusion. They are an owner of a foundation that helps improve inclusion for ethnic minorities, they are also a coach at professional club Watford FC and Fulham. I will attach my questions' list on this post also.

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Here is my dissertation timeline.

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First interview went very well. It ended up lasting over an hour as the individual went into a lot of detail about every question asked. They were able to provide me with many different perspectives on things, e.g. as a coach, a fan, a foundation owner etc. I also learnt a lot personally it was great speaking to him, a true inspiration. The data provided is remarkable. Time to transcribe.

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Just conducted my second interview for my dissertation. The Arsenal in the Community coach shared great insights. They run free estate sessions in Hackney and Camden, and mix diverse kids, reduce street activity, and improve behaviour. Their leadership and personal connections shine, fostering trust (Social Capital Theory, Putnam, 2000). Long-term effects are promising but untracked, a key theme I’m exploring alongside club strategies and coach roles. Now I’m coding data and seeking 2-3 more interviews.

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Here is my first methodology draft.

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The feedback I got on my methodology was good. I was praised for identifying a theoretical framework ''Social Capital Theory'' (Putnam, 2000), and was tasked with justifying my choice further. I was advised to read the work by Fred Coalter (from 2007 onwards), which was extremely helpful in all parts of my dissertation. The biggest parts that I needed to improve were criticality in some areas, e.g. why I used Braun and Clarke's (2006) thematic analysis methods. Overall, I was very happy with this feedback.

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Currently on track with my dissertation timeline. Although I am aiming to have a final draft to Chris for the 5th of May now, so I have 3 days to polish my findings/discussion, which I've now finished, review Chris's comments on my methodology and improve it, improve my literature review, and write my conclusion and abstract. I have also only been able to interview 3 coaches, rather than 6. This is partly due to struggles with finding and getting in contact with participants, especially when coaches from professional clubs are being targeted. Although the interviews that I have conducted were very rich in detail, which allowed me to use many different quotes and develop many themes in my findings and discussion.

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The feedback I got from my literature review was a huge wake-up call and a turning point in the production of my dissertation. Many things were missing, such as relevant sources linked to football, building my review around themes that I developed from my reading, and lazy writing. It was a descriptive piece of work, but not a literature review.

From the feedback, the most helpful thing was to restructure my review on 3 themes that I identified through my reading. I felt frustrated by the idea of rewriting such a large section, but breaking it into these themes made the review much easier to write. It also helped me see where there were gaps in my reading. For example, I realised I needed to include more critical perspectives on the role of coaches and the challenges of sustaining inclusion.

I was also reminded to think more critically about the strengths and limitations of the studies I was referencing, rather than just describing them.

Looking back, the feedback pushed me to turn my literature review from a list of sources into a more structured and meaningful discussion. It made my work and me stronger.

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Lit Review draft has now been sent off hoping to have feedback for the meeting next week. Now I must create a plan/timeline of what to do next for my study (e.g. data collection dates and writing other sections)

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Started Working on my literature review last week (currently on 1200 words). Aiming to finish it tomorrow, to allow my supervisor to have time to read it before our meeting next week. Been looking at professional clubs' different outreach programmes and how they impact social inclusion. Also spoken about how clubs may use community outreach as a ''PR tool''. Planning to add gaps and a conclusion. It's great being able to type again after suffering a broken hand!

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How Professional Football Clubs Impact Social Inclusion

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The third interview was conducted with a coach from a Championship club. While the data was not as detailed or in-depth as the other two interviews, it still provided valuable insights that will contribute to my thematic analysis. Although slightly less rich, the coach’s perspective adds diversity to the dataset and helps triangulate some of the emerging themes.

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My findings were structured around three key themes: outreach strategies, long-term effectiveness, and coach involvement in inclusion.

One of the most significant insights was the big role coaches play in delivering inclusion programmes, not just through football sessions, but through emotional labour.

I also found that while outreach programmes often show short-term success in reducing anti-social behaviour or increasing engagement, their long-term effect is harder to track. Coaches described examples of sustained community ties and personal development, but also voiced concerns about the lack of structural support, funding, or collaboration between clubs, which echoed critiques from Nichols (2007) and Parnell et al. (2012).

What stood out to me most was how much inclusion work depends on the personal commitment of coaches. Emotional roles like mentorship or behavioural support are rarely acknowledged in training, yet they shape the outcomes of outreach in many ways.

Overall, this section helped me reflect on the hidden labour involved in delivering outreach and the need for more formal support structures if professional clubs are to make a lasting impact on inclusion.

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Beliefs: When I initially started this project, I thought I had to have everything perfect and figured out. I soon realised this was not the case and knew this was going to be a significant task to complete. I was quite apprehensive about qualitative research, especially interviewing, because I doubted whether I could generate meaningful data.

Action: At the start of the project, I may not have worked as effectively as I could have; potential reasons may have been procrastination, fear, laziness, cluelessness - the list could go on. I also had a huge barrier put in front of me with the breaking of my hand in late January. Over time, I took ownership of this project and put my all into it, I dedicated my life to it. I challenged myself to stay organised, following the timeline I had created for myself, which helped tremendously. I also made space for critical reflection at every stage, even when it meant rewriting or restructuring sections.

Results: I've grown significantly in terms of critical thinking, writing, independence, resilience, and academic confidence. I now trust in my ability to analyse qualitative data and make reasoned arguments. I've become more disciplined with time management by breaking tasks into manageable sections to keep myself on track. One big shift was realising that research isn’t just about the findings; it’s about how I handle challenges, make decisions, and reflect along the way.

Transfer: The skills that I have developed over this project will stay beyond my time as an undergraduate student. I now approach research (and tasks in general) with more resilience and confidence in myself. My discipline when completing work has also improved greatly, which will transfer to other areas of my life, where working hard and to the best of my ability is key. I've also learnt how crucial reflection is, not just to improve academically, but personally too. Whether I continue studying or not, these skills will transfer to various parts of my life and I express my gratitude for being allowed to complete this project.

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My first meeting with Chris gave me a map regarding my dissertation. We crafted a sheet that planned everything out and a to-do list/suggestions. We also looked at my strengths and how they would enable me in the completion of my study. For example, how I have good “people skills”, which may naturally enhance my interviewing skills. This meeting also gave me a lot of confidence which I am grateful for. Attached.

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My next meeting with Chris was a few months later. A reason for this was my broken hand and how I was unable to complete any work for a long period of time, another is how I may have not been working as hard and efficiently as I should have been. This meeting was a huge wake up call for me, and I have been working to the best of my ability since. I was advised to create a timeline for my dissertation to be able to complete it with the extension that was given to me as a result of my injury, this helped me tremendously with staying on track - something I have always struggled with. I was also told to complete a BART reflection task which has honestly put everything into perspective for me and helped me see the bigger picture with how my dissertation has shaped me into the person I am today. Overall, this meeting was great and very much needed for me.

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Towards the start of January I broke my hand in two places, which required a 5 hour surgery, with permanent plates and screws inserted into my hand. This was a scary time for me; my first thought when I found out it was broken was “How am I going to write my dissertation?”. I was left in a state of panic and was honestly terrified about how I was going to achieve my goals, as I need both hands to write a piece of work, whilst also needing my mental health in a good place to create such a big project.

After the first month or so, I had little to no work done other than big ideas in my head. After slowly recovering, I made a start on my work, and at first it was hard due to pain and discomfort; I wanted to give up. As I slowly started making progress, the drive to complete this project took over, and I have never been so determined to complete something to the best of my ability.

Now, fast forward to the final week before my dissertation is due, and I’ve never been so excited and nervous to submit a piece of work. This injury affected my dissertation, but it will only make me more proud once I’m at graduation, knowing I’ve overcome something so difficult.

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I have now almost completed my final submission of my dissertation. Currently editing parts where Chris has given me feedback on, whilst adding a section about reflexivity in my methodology to mitigate bias within data. I have finalised all my formatting, and am aiming to create a table of contents. Keywords have been added to my abstract, the literature review has been tied together with my findings and discussion, and the conclusion has been rewritten, upon following the feedback from Chris and using moodle for assistance. A big gap for me before was that I did not fully answer my research question, but I have now. Looking forward to submitting tomorrow around 1pm, and am also nervous!

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The day of submittion has come, the timeline helped me organise my work, whilst helping me getting it completed on time. I did have to finish sooner for the submission date of the 16th, but it has been significantly useful in the completion of my project.

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Here is my coding framework in a table, NVivo software assisted in creating themes.

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Here is a table of my participants in my dissertation, with their clubs and identities anonymised.

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The final edits are complete, and I’m genuinely proud of the outcome. This has been the most challenging academic project I’ve ever worked on, and also the one I’ve worked hardest on. The final dissertation has exceeded my initial expectations in both depth and quality. I’ll be submitting it tomorrow afternoon!

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Dissertation has been submitted!