Field-based sport research involves studies that collect data from athletes and/or teams during competition and/or their daily training environments. Over the last decade, sport-specific field-based research projects have significantly increased in number and complexity, partially owing to the further development of more portable measurement equipment (e.g., indirect calorimetry, desktop blood/gas analyzers, portable laboratories, etc.) and/or wearable or consumable technologies (e.g., smart watches, sensors, core temp pills, etc.). However, given these rapid advances and novelty, challenges remain in the validity and applicability of these devices. Unfortunately, there are no global ethical or best-practice standards for the use of portable devices and/or wearables in sport; however, this review will outline various opportunities and challenges. Many decision trade-offs are required when designing field-based research studies to balance gold-standard scientific rigor and strict research control with highly applied, but less-controlled, "real-world" conditions. To our knowledge, there are no narrative reviews that take a wholistic view of the logistical and methodological considerations of field-based research in athletes. Accordingly, this review takes a multi-disciplinary methodological approach (physiological, nutritional/energetic, biomechanical, musculoskeletal, cognitive, and psychosocial factors), along with the logistical considerations involved in project planning, research design, and ethics of field-based research with elite athletes and/or teams. We also provide practical guidance for characterizing the extreme demands of elite training and competition to support research that ultimately catalyzes improved understanding of the limits of human capacity. We hope this review can serve as a practical guide for researchers undertaking elite athlete field-based research. Key Summary Points: 1. Elite athletes, teams, and coaches are most interested in research findings with high ecological validity that can be directly applied to improving health and performance in their sport—appreciating that the limits of human performance happen in the field, and not in the laboratory. 2. Most field-based studies are integrated into larger training camps or competitions, requiring the management of complex collaborations and partners, which can include athletes, teams, coaches, sport organizations, researchers, event organizers, academic institutions, and medical staff, as well as sport governing bodies, anti-doping agencies, funding agencies, and corporate and host communities. 3. The ideal scientific design and implementation of field-based research studies involving competition and/or training in elite athletes/teams requires: (1) researchers who have intimate knowledge of a sport/event; (2) the trust of the athletes and coaches; (3) exceptional logistical and organizational skills; and (4) rigorous scientific expertise to apply the various field-based methodologies. 4. The context and goals of a field-based research project should inform the choice of data collection method(s), as each approach to assessing physiological, nutritional/energetic, biomechanical, musculoskeletal, cognitive, and psychosocial factors has various logistical and compliance considerations independently and collectively as a research program.
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