Analysis of the Research Methodology in Spanish Doctoral Theses on Handball. A Systematic Review

The objective of this investigation was to analyze scientific production assessed by indexed doctoral theses in the Ordered Spanish Theses (TESEO) database, on the topic of the sport of handball in Spain. Productivity was analyzed on the basis of variables grouped by contextual information, methodologies and procedures. Seventy-two indexed theses from between 1976 and 2021 were analyzed. A progressive increase was identified in scientific production based on these theses during this period. The scientific disciplines that presented the highest number of theses were Sport Sciences (n = 33) and Sport Pedagogy (n = 19). The main results show that quantitative approaches are the most common (n = 49), doctoral theses using descriptive studies based on systematic observation represent the majority (73%), the predominant type of data collection was the use of cross-sectional studies (70.8%) versus longitudinal studies (26.4%), and the most used sampling method was that of convenience (n = 65). The results make it possible to ascertain the reality of this research topic, the methodological positioning and research tendencies, and to draw the basic lines for development.