Book excerpt: Making sense of sports performance data can be a challenging task but is nevertheless an essential part of performance analysis investigations. Focusing on techniques used in the analysis of sport performance, this book introduces the fundamental principles of data analysis, explores the most important tools used in data analysis, and offers guidance on the presentation of results. The book covers key topics such as: The purpose of data analysis, from statistical analysis to algorithmic processing Commercial packages for performance and data analysis, including Focus, Sportscode, Dartfish, Prozone, Excel, SPSS and Matlab Effective use of statistical procedures in sport performance analysis Analysing data from manual notation systems, player tracking systems and computerized match analysis systems Creating visually appealing ‘dashboard’ interfaces for presenting data Assessing reliability. The book includes worked examples from real sport, offering clear guidance to the reader and bringing the subject to life. This book is invaluable reading for any student, researcher or analyst working in sport performance or undertaking a sport-related research project or methods course