Authors: Dr. Nagendra Pal
Abstract: – Artificial intelligence (AI) and wearable fitness technologies are increasingly discussed as tools for monitoring workload, interpreting physiological signals and personalising sports training. Yet quantitative indicators alone cannot explain how collegiate athletes understand algorithmic feedback, negotiate its use with coaches, or experience the practical constraints of technology-assisted training. This paper presents a qualitative research protocol to explore athletes’ perceptions and experiences of AI-enabled applications and wearable fitness technologies in relation to sports performance and training effectiveness in Western Uttar Pradesh, India. Guided by an interpretivist orientation, the proposed study will use purposive, maximum-variation sampling and semi-structured interviews with approximately 20–25 collegiate athletes, with the final sample determined by information power. Interviews will explore perceived usefulness, training decisions, coach–athlete communication, trust in data, accessibility, privacy and unintended consequences. Reflexive thematic analysis will be undertaken through iterative familiarisation, coding, theme development and interpretive writing, supported by reflexive memoing and transparent documentation. Ethical procedures will include institutional approval, informed consent, secure data management and safeguards against coercion. As interviews have not yet been conducted, this manuscript does not report participant quotations, emergent themes or empirical findings. It offers a theoretically informed and operationally specified protocol capable of supporting a rigorous future qualitative investigation.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23687691
