What is esports? A systematic scoping review and concept analysis of esports

Di Tang; Raymond Kim-Wai Sum; Minghui Li; Ruisi Ma; Peichi Chung; Ray Wai-Keung Ho

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23248

What is esports? A systematic scoping review and concept analysis of esports

Heliyon. 2023 Dec 3;9(12):e23248. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23248. eCollection 2023 Dec.

Authors

Di Tang¹, Raymond Kim-Wai Sum¹, Minghui Li², Ruisi Ma¹, Peichi Chung³, Ray Wai-Keung Ho¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Sports Science and Physical Education, Faculty of Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
² Centre for Physical Activity, Sport and Exercise Sciences, Coventry University, Coventry, United Kingdom.
³ Department of Cultural and Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.

Abstract

This study conducted a systematic scoping review to collect definitions and explanations of esports and its related concepts in the existing literature. A thematic coding approach was used to screen possible disagreements and issues between the different characteristics of esports as presented in the existing definitions. Based on a critical discussion, the results of the coding were combined with the objective facts of the current esports industry and theories from similar fields to reconstruct the construction of an esports definition. In addition, the relationship between esports and its related concepts was discussed based on the proposed esports definition structure. The proposed esports criteria can help avoid misunderstandings and confusion in future studies regarding the research subjects related to esports and propose standardized usage of relevant terms in the field of esports research.

Keywords: Concept analysis; Definition; Esports; Scoping review; Thematic analysis.

Publication types

Review