Mapping East Asian Sport Scholarship: A Review of Communication and Sociology of Sport Literature,2000–2024

Abstract

While large-scale assessments of North American and Europe-based sport journals have been conducted, a specific look at how East Asia is explored in sport scholarship is lacking. To access knowledge domains of the region where the three consecutive Olympic and Paralympic Games (2018, 2020, 2022) were held, this study reviews 206 research articles published in five leading sport communication and sociology of sport journals to explore the publication trend, authorship, sport context, theoretical framework, and methodological approaches reflected in studies of East Asian sport from 2000–2024. Results indicated that the publications dramatically increased since 2019, and scholars from the U.S. still dominate the field. With respect to theoretical frameworks, nationalism, framing, and globalization are the top three most cited theories/organizing concepts. While most references were used as guiding frameworks, few articles expanded or developed the theories. For methodological approach, qualitative studies dominated four out of the five journals, especially in the sociology of sport field, while content analysis was the most common method. Notably, experiments were the least used method. This study offers suggestions for enhancing theoretical and methodological approaches and calls for more “localized studies” to advance diversity within the field.