The Institute of Sociology and Gender Studies of the German Sport University Cologne covers a broad field of research in both fundamental and applied topics. At the same time, the Institute is represented in almost all courses of study at the DSHS. The subject of the Institute’s research is everything that comprises sociality, meaning the interactive constitution of social structures (e.g. social norms, organisational cultures) and social behaviour in sport-related contexts (e.g. sport education, sport reporting).

With this perspective, the two working areas of “Sport Sociology” and “Gender & Diversity Studies” focus on and analyse various social phenomena, e.g. the relationship between age/ageing, images of age and involvement in sport, gendered stereotyping of athletes in the media, diversity in physical education and the causes and conditions of sexualised violence in sport. The following guiding principles are relevant to our research and teaching:

• conducting theory-driven, empirical research using different frames of reference and various methods (including surveys, interviews, observation, content analysis)
• maintaining international networks with colleagues in international associations of sport sociology (including ISSA, EASS) and utilising them in cooperative research projects
• combining research and teaching in such a way that students receive reflection knowledge and skills along with current topics
• accompanying the transfer of research results into society, so that these can be used by institutions and organised sport as knowledge for action

Our research projects are financed by various third-party funders, for example, the European Commission/ Erasmus+ [Voices for Truth and Dignity]; the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research [“Safe Sport” Prevention of Sexualised Violence in Sport, Gender Bias in Sports Medicine, Sport as a School Subject 2020]; the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research of NRW (North Rhine-Westphalia) [Moving Age/Ageing – a Social-Structural Analysis of Sport in Old Age]; the German Federal Highway Research Institute [Gender-specific Accident Prevention]; DOSB/LSB NRW   [Sport is Fair, Gender  Mainstreaming  in Sport]; Krupp Foundation, Essen [First Report on Sport for German Children and Youth] and long-running institutionalised research projects such as [longitudinal analyses: up-to-date media coverage of athletes, Olympia - Visualisation in Print Media]