Lecture 1

Research Methods in Sport Studies and Sport Management (summaries)

Pages 1-45:

Title: Introduction to Social Research in Sport
Key Points:
Information, knowledge, and understanding of the natural, social, and economic environment are essential for contemporary cultural and material development.
Managers in various industries need skills in generating and utilizing information and knowledge for research.
Research exists in different social, political, and economic contexts.
This book introduces social research in the context of sport, including industry, public policy, and academic inquiry.
The book provides a practical guide to research and emphasizes its role in policy-making, planning, and management processes in the sport sector.
Sport research involves various methodological approaches, reflecting the diverse nature of the field.
Sport encompasses a wide range of activities, including physical exercise, leisure, work, and events, making it a multifaceted subject.
Descriptive research is common in sports, aiming to map and monitor changing patterns of behavior.
Explanatory research seeks to understand causality and predict outcomes.
Evaluative research assesses the success or effectiveness of policies and programs.
Understanding research is essential for students, professionals, and managers to evaluate research reports and conduct their own research projects.
Research plays a crucial role in policy-making, planning, and management processes in the sport sector.
Research informs decision-making by providing information about the environment, options, and potential outcomes.
Stakeholder consultation is an important part of the research process, involving employees, clients, and the public.
Research helps identify policy and planning options and evaluates their feasibility and impact.
Decision-makers must select the best strategy based on research findings and goals.
Implementation and management involve using research for resource allocation and continuous improvement.
Monitoring and evaluation complete the research cycle, leading to revisions and improvements in policies and plans.
Sport research is conducted by various actors, including academics, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and private companies.
Understanding who conducts research and their motivations is essential for interpreting research findings in the sport sector.

Title: Introduction to Research in Sports Management
Key Points:

1. Motivation/Purpose of Research:
   Research serves various purposes in the field of sports management, including:
   Part of the job description for academics
   Advancing knowledge
   Engaging with industry and benefiting society
   Projects as a learning medium for coursework students
   Training and qualification for research and academic careers for research students
   Informing policy, monitoring performance, and aiding in decision-making
   Supporting evidence-based policy
2. Who Conducts Research:
   Research in sports management is conducted by various groups, including:
   Academics (professors, lecturers, etc.)
   Students (PhD, master's, undergraduates)
   Government agencies
   Commercial organizations
   Non-profit organizations
   Managers in the sports industry
   Consultants specializing in sports management
3. Sources of Funding:
   Research is funded through different sources, such as:
   Unfunded (academic research without additional financial resources)
   University internal funds
   Government-funded research councils
   Private trusts and foundations
   Industry funding from government, commercial, or non-profit organizations
4. Research Outputs:
   Research in sports management produces various types of outputs, including:
   Academic journal articles (peer-reviewed)
   Professional journal articles (for practitioners)
   Conference presentations and papers
   Books (textbooks and monographs)
   Policy, planning, and management reports
   Position statements
   Market profiles and market research
   Feasibility studies
   Sport and recreation needs studies
   Tourism strategies and marketing plans
   Forecasting studies
   Impact studies (e.g., economic and environmental)
5. Dissemination of Research:
   Research findings are typically disseminated through publication in journals, reports, and presentations, as well as on agency websites for public access.
6. Terminology:
   Key research terms include "subject" (individuals providing information) and "variable" (characteristics that vary among subjects).
   This overview provides a concise summary of the introductory concepts related to research in sports management. Researchers and students can refer to specific chapters for more detailed information on research methods and practices in this field.

Chapter Summary: Approaches to Sport Research
This chapter introduces various disciplines and paradigms within the realm of sports research. It encompasses an exploration of disciplinary traditions and examines terminology, approaches, dimensions, and key issues in sports research. Here is a summary of the main points covered:
Disciplinary Traditions:
Much of sports research arises from academic disciplines rather than industry demands.
Prominent academic disciplines contributing to sports research include sociology, economics, geography, psychology, social psychology, history, and philosophy.
Sports studies are considered a multidisciplinary, cross-disciplinary, or interdisciplinary field, incorporating insights from various disciplines.
Approaches to Research in Sport:
Different disciplines characterize sports research through distinct aspects, theories, and research techniques.
Multidisciplinary research combines insights from various disciplines (e.g., economics and sociology of sport).
Cross-disciplinary research focuses on shared issues, theories, and concepts across disciplines.
Interdisciplinary research refers to sub-fields not fitting neatly into any single discipline.
Relationships Between Sport Research and Disciplines:
Each discipline has its own research focus, including descriptive, explanatory, and evaluative aspects in relation to sports.
Terminology: Approaches, Dimensions, Issues:
Various terms and concepts are common in sports research literature.
Ontology relates to the researcher's perspective on the nature of reality.
Epistemology refers to the researcher's relationship with the subject of study.
Methodology concerns the methods used to establish knowledge and understanding.

Positivist, Post-Positivist, Interpretive, and Critical Approaches/Paradigms:

Positivism adopts a scientific, objective perspective on phenomena.

Post-positivism involves hypotheses that are not falsified by data but considered probable.

Interpretive approaches focus on understanding subjects' perspectives and often use qualitative methods.

Critical approaches are influenced by beliefs critical of the status quo, such as neo-Marxism or feminism.

Descriptive, Explanatory, and Evaluative Research:

Descriptive research aims to describe phenomena.

Explanatory research seeks to identify causal relationships.

Evaluative research assesses the outcomes or success of policies or actions.

Causality: Criteria for establishing causality include association, time priority, non-spurious relationships, and rationale. Association should demonstrate strength and consistency. Time priority indicates that the cause must precede the effect. Non-spurious relationships exclude the influence of third variables. Rationale requires a plausible theoretical or logical explanation for causality. This chapter provides an overview of the diverse aspects of sports research, emphasizing the importance of understanding various research approaches, disciplines, and paradigms when conducting research in the field of sports studies.

Qualitative and Quantitative Research

Overview:
Sport research involves collecting, analyzing, and presenting statistical information.
Information can be inherently quantitative (e.g., numbers of participants in sports) or presented in quantitative form (e.g., satisfaction scores on a scale from 1 to 5).

Quantitative Research

Relies on numerical data for conclusions and hypothesis testing.
Requires large sample sizes and often involves computerized data analysis.
Data sources include surveys, observations, measurements, and administrative records.
Three approaches to quantitative research: a. Hypothetical-deductive (statistical tests). b. Statistical (uses statistical methods, not necessarily deductive). c. Inductive (relies on numerical data but lacks statistical tests, common in policy-related research).

Qualitative Research

Focuses on non-numeric information, conveyed through words, images, or sounds.
Definitions vary and may include methods not exclusive to the approach.
Allows for in-depth understanding but limits sample size; findings not generalized.
Methods include observation, interviews, participant observation, and text analysis.
Ethnographic research applies anthropological approaches to studying groups.

Qualitative vs. Quantitative

Debate over their differences and merits is common.
Guba and Lincoln suggest both approaches can be appropriate in any research paradigm.
Increasingly, computers are used to analyze qualitative data.

Pragmatism

An approach that combines post-positivist and interpretive paradigms.
Aims for practical usefulness in solving real-world problems.
Often involves mixed methods or bricolage, using various tools and materials as needed.

Participatory Research

Research subjects cooperate in directing the research, often in informal or open-ended settings.
Overlaps with action research, involving researchers actively in bringing about change.

Theoretical and Applied Research

Theoretical research seeks generalizable conclusions.
Applied research applies existing theory to specific problems or issues, often in policy, planning, or management contexts.

Reflexivity

An explicit consideration of the researcher-researched relationship.
Essential in qualitative research, especially in participant observation.
May involve physical, cultural, power-related, or social interactions.

Empirical and Non-empirical Research

Empirical research collects and analyzes data from the real world.
Non-empirical research relies on existing literature and local analysis to draw conclusions.
Ideally, both theoretical and empirical research coexist, complementing each other.

Induction and Deduction

Induction involves generating explanations from data.
Deduction starts with a hypothesis or theory, testing or confirming it with data.

Case Study: Tennis vs. Golf - Inductive and Deductive Approach
Inductive approach: Data collected first, explanations generated later.

Deductive approach: Hypothesis/theory comes first, data collected to confirm or refute it.
These approaches and dimensions provide a foundation for conducting research in the field of sports studies, allowing researchers to choose the most suitable methods based on their research questions and goals.

Pages 45-51

This text discusses the interplay between deductive and inductive approaches in research, particularly in the context of quantitative and qualitative methods. It emphasizes that most research involves elements of both deductive reasoning (starting with hypotheses and theories) and inductive reasoning (starting with initial information and data collection). The text also highlights that even quantitative methods, often associated with deductive reasoning, can have inductive components.
It further discusses the challenges of conducting research in the field of human behavior, where controlled experiments are less feasible, and researchers often rely on naturalistic methods. These methods include observations and self-reported data, each with its own advantages and limitations.
The text introduces the concepts of validity and reliability in research, noting that they are crucial for assessing the quality of research findings. It also mentions the introduction of trustworthiness and authenticity in qualitative research as alternative criteria for evaluating research quality.
Overall, the text provides insights into the complexities and nuances of research methodologies, especially in the field of sports research.

Pages 57-67

It provides a structure for organizing and understanding the data collected during the research process. In simpler terms, a conceptual framework is like a map that helps researchers navigate through their study, guiding them in identifying what to investigate and how to interpret their findings.

Developing a conceptual framework involves several key steps:

1. Identifying key concepts and variables: Start by identifying the main concepts, variables, or factors that are relevant to your research topic. These are the building blocks of your framework.
2. Defining relationships: Determine how these concepts or variables are related to each other. Are they positively or negatively correlated? Is one a predictor of the other? These relationships should be based on existing theory, prior research, or your own hypotheses.
3. Creating a visual representation: Some researchers prefer to create a graphical representation of their conceptual framework using diagrams or flowcharts. Others may choose to describe it in narrative form. The choice depends on the complexity of your study and your personal preference.
4. Theoretical grounding: Ensure that your conceptual framework is theoretically grounded. This means that it should be based on established theories or models relevant to your research area. It's important to justify why you've chosen a particular theoretical framework.
5. Testing and revising: Your conceptual framework is not set in stone. As you collect and analyze data, you may find that you need to revise or refine your framework. This iterative process is common in research.
6. Operationalizing variables: Once you've established your conceptual framework, you'll need to operationalize your variables. This means defining how you will measure or observe each variable in your study.

The quality of your research often depends on the strength and clarity of your conceptual framework. It helps you to focus your research questions, select appropriate research methods, and interpret your findings in a meaningful way. A well-developed conceptual framework also demonstrates your understanding of the existing literature and the theoretical underpinnings of your study.

In summary, a conceptual framework is a critical component of the research planning process, guiding the study's direction and providing a structure for organizing data and findings. Researchers should invest time and effort in developing a robust and theoretically grounded framework to ensure the success of their research projects.

Pages 68-78

The text discusses the importance of conceptual frameworks in various types of research, including descriptive, explanatory, and evaluative research. It highlights that different research types require different styles of conceptual frameworks.

1. Descriptive Research: Descriptive research, as the name suggests, aims to describe a phenomenon without necessarily explaining it. It usually does not require an elaborate conceptual framework but relies on clear definitions of the involved concepts. However, defining these concepts can be a significant task, especially when dealing with complex topics, such as measuring physical activity levels.
2. Explanatory and Evaluative Research: In contrast, explanatory and evaluative research demands well-developed conceptual frameworks. These frameworks form the basis for explaining or evaluating the research findings.

The text acknowledges that this approach to conceptual frameworks may seem inconsistent with the inductive approach, where theory is derived from data rather than testing pre-existing theory. However, the text emphasizes that conceptual frameworks are crucial for qualitative research as well, sometimes referred to as a "working hypothesis," which may evolve as the research progresses.

The text also highlights that a conceptual framework need not be rigid but can be flexible and evolving, especially in qualitative research. The researcher usually begins with a rudimentary framework drawn from the literature or other sources, but this framework can change and develop as data collection and analysis proceed.

The process of developing a conceptual framework is broken down into four elements:

1. Explore/Explain Relationships: Identifying and understanding the relationships between concepts, which underpin the framework.
2. Identify/List Concepts: Recognizing and listing the fundamental concepts that the research will focus on.
3. Define Concepts: Clearly defining these concepts for research purposes, which may evolve over time.
4. Operationalize Concepts: Deciding how these concepts will be measured or identified in the research, whether quantitatively or qualitatively.

The text also discusses the use of conceptual frameworks as models in quantitative research and provides examples of conceptual frameworks used in various domains of sport studies, including fitness and health, management/policy, market research, and customer service quality studies.

Finally, the text explains the difference between research questions and objectives, emphasizing that objectives should be aligned with answering specific research questions and not merely be tasks or activities in themselves.