A new one from me. This time a short 'letter to the editor' about wanting to be able to write like a human. Open access and written with love... journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

I’d Like to Be a Machine Human - Christopher R. Matthews, 2026

journals.sagepub.com

A summer reading treat.

I got in trouble at work for speaking too frankly about senior colleagues poor performance. This paper came from my reflections as to the foundations of my thoughts about vacuous 'leadership': www.nature.com/articles/s41...

In my experience moral leadership in contemporary academia is largely absence or symbolic. And the senior scholars that do provide it often have to sit outside of formal power structures. It seems easier to clamber the greasy academic pole if you're a malliable coward rather than a principled leader

Kuhnian 'normal science' or as Andrew Abbott would have it 'relentlessly unimaginative normal science'.

Steven R. Shaw, PhD@shawpsych.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Academics be like: I’ve got a manuscript idea.

Here’s my take on why we need to burn down sports psychology.

The End of Sport@endofsportpod.bsky.social · 5mo ago

The Sports Psychology Episode Lauren Beasley joins for a critical conversation about sports psych and athlete mental health. This one has been a LONG time coming. open.spotify.com/episode/1aYH...

"Social science methods are not as they should be." In this paper I expand my critique of the 'epistemological fictions' that offen sit at the core of thinking & writing in disciplines such as psychology, criminology, sociology and interpretative science more broadly. Please do share 🙏

Are there any podcasts that focus on methodology and/or qual research?

Write like the scholar you want to become

Colleagues who run journals or know editors, I'd like to propose a symposium/debate paper to challenge the use of 'messy' as an appropriate description for scholarship. Please to tag people below or share if you know anyone that might be interested. #socialscience #sociology #qualitative #research

Christopher R. Matthews@drcrmatthews.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Research, like most things, rarely goes as planned. That doesnt mean its messy. In fact, if your research is 'a mess,' i think youre either being descriptively lazy or admiting to doing poor science. There are much better terms than messy. More here 👇

New one. The focus here is on how the families of former pro footballers are left to pick up the finance and emotional tab from heading the ball for years. Open access: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

This paper might be of interest to people working in women's health and/or sport, especially in considering the 'ontological pervasiveness' of women's bodies, also check the acknowledgements for a rant: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... #sociology #health #qualitative #socialscience

Research, like most things, rarely goes as planned. That doesnt mean its messy. In fact, if your research is 'a mess,' i think youre either being descriptively lazy or admiting to doing poor science. There are much better terms than messy. More here 👇

Research, like most things, rarely goes as planned. That doesnt mean its messy. In fact, if your research is 'a mess,' i think youre either being descriptively lazy or admiting to doing poor science. There are much better terms than messy. More here 👇

Ive learned more from regular visits to @oxfamgb.bsky.social in Beeston than anywhere else. I love the unknown twists my reading and career have taken following some of the ideas ive discovered there.

I've spent the last 30mins trying to write a sentence about how hard it can be to write a good sentence.

The Green Wave is coming but so is WW3. The Lord giveth and take away.

Got a phd student who needs easing into philosophy of science? We wrote this chapter with them in mind. More info here: www.routledge.com/Qualitative-...

Someone should design a course called 'Sociological discoveries that changed the world' and record short, shape lectures for YouTube. That could be a great success for the writer and a lovely resource for the discipline. @rwjdingwall.bsky.social know anyone?

This post is gonna age like fine wine. Unfortunately in that time a needless amount of brains and lives will be damaged

Down with Dons - John Carey. Recommended reading for anyone in academia, esp those 'overgrown schoolboy professors' that are so desperate to be respected for their honorifics.

Ive been away teaching medics abouts doing research. Its been a great few days. My main take away is the false separation they see between their practice and their research projects. Hopefully we've corrected that somewhat, it seems we've inspired some different ways forward.

Anyone else feel like an 'odd one out in academia'?

Anyone else feel like an 'odd one out in academia'?

Steve Borgatti and I invite contributions to a special issue on "Social Network Theory" at the journal Social Networks. Send us a wide range of approaches and manuscripts, anything really, on the theoretical interpretation, systematization, integration, and reflection of empirical network research!

There are sports where kids get quite routine brain trauma. Obviously that is immoral. Counter arguments never hold children's health, well being and human rights in high enough regard. More here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Children’s rights, human development and play – rejecting performance-orientated youth sport

This commentary is distinctly personal for us. We think it should be likewise for all scholars, leaders and organisers involved in youth sport. This is because, to our minds, at the core of most pe...

tandfonline.com

Nothing to do with the new year, but I resolve to have a footnote that is a page long at some point in my career. Obviously I'll credit Stewart Lee for leading the way.

Formal teaching qualifications should focus on the science of pedagogy. But not to the detriment of the social theory, politics, theology, humanities and art of pedagogy. Accepting these statements requires a radical shift in how PGCHEs & university pedagogy is structured and managed.

Embedded in these four books (in combo with a background of decent social theory) is a powerful reworking of academia and society more broadly. How will we get people to engage with such ideas when they are so quick to farm out their deliberations to unthinking artificial 'intelligence'?