PURPOSE The purpose of the current study was to examine the research trend on China’s sport policy. We proposed three research questions: (a) have the research keywords for China’s sport policy changed over time; (b) which research keywords best r...
PURPOSE The purpose of the current study was to examine the research trend on China’s sport policy. We proposed three research questions: (a) have the research keywords for China’s sport policy changed over time; (b) which research keywords best represent the past 30 years of research on China’s sport policy; and (c) what are the primary topics of that research? METHOD We searched the core journals on CNKI to determine trends in 30 years of research on China’s sport policy and directions for future research. In order to achieve this goal, we conducted social network analysis using 437 articles published between 1993 and 2020. RESULT First, we found that China’s sport policy-related keywords did not change significantly. Second, the primary keywords over this 30-year period included the following: sport, policy, China, development, system, implementation, innovation, and industry. Third, sport policy scholars focused most often on the sport industry, followed by sport policy development, school sports, sport governance, and mass sports. CONCLUSION To develop sport policy research in China further, private academic organizations (e.g., China’s Society for Sport Policy) need to conduct sport policy studies.