Research Methods for Sports Studies

Ian Jones

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781000540307
• Edition: 4
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Scienze motorie e sportive
• Index: Business

Research Methods for Sports Studies is a comprehensive, engaging and practical textbook that provides a grounding in qualitative and quantitative research for students studying programmes related to sport and physical activity.

Leading the reader step-by-step through the entire research process, from identifying a research question and collecting and analysing data to writing and presenting the research report, the book is richly illustrated throughout with sport-related case studies and examples from around the world. Research Methods for Sports Studies is designed to be a complete and self-contained companion to any research methods course and contains a wealth of useful features, such as highlighted definitions of key terms, all-new case studies from active researchers and practical research exercises. Now in a revised and updated fourth edition, and in full colour for the first time, the book features expanded coverage of key topics such as online research, data visualisation, image analysis, source evaluation, mixed methods and the philosophical foundations of research. It also includes new material on the challenges of researching during a pandemic and reflects on the importance of diversity and inclusion, from feminist and indigenous methodologies to increased diversity of cases and researcher voices.

This is an essential read for any student undertaking a dissertation or research project as part of their studies in sport, exercise and related fields, including sport management, sport development, the sociology of sport, sport marketing, sport-related tourism, sport coaching, physical education and other similar degrees.

Additional online material is available for students and instructors, including web links, multiple-choice revision questions, PowerPoint slides and additional learning activities for use in and out of class.

Chapter 1 What is research?

DOI: 10.4324/9781003195467-1

This chapter will:

• Introduce the concept of ‘research’.
• Discuss some of the reasons why we undertake research.
• Outline the different types of research.
• Describe how to approach the reading of research articles.

Introduction

Sport is an incredibly complex social institution. ‘Few activities in the lives of ordinary people around the world bring together physicality, emotions, politics, money, and morality as dramatically as sport’ (Besnier et al. 2018, p. 1). Forms of sport are played in every country in the world. Participants may range from multiple medal-winning ‘super-elite’ athletes performing in front of global audiences to one-off casual participants lacking any real competence. It may bring people together through shared sporting identities, but it can also be divisive, leading to violence and abuse, both on and off the field. It can be a force for social inclusion, as well as leading to social exclusion. The experiences of those involved may be overwhelmingly positive; yet for others, negative experiences may be the dominant outcome. The health benefits of sport are widely discussed, but less is made of the harmful consequences of participation. These are just some of the many complexities within the field, complexities that make it an incredibly rich and rewarding thing to understand more fully, whether as a coach, manager, educator, marketer, or any other sport-related professional.

We already know a lot about sport. The fact that you are reading this book suggests that you have an understanding of its varied nature, impacts and experiences, whether focusing upon factors that influence performance at an individual level, the relationship between sport and well-being, or the broader impacts of sport at a global level. Yet there is still more to find out. As with any social science, the study of sport involves the examination of constantly changing behaviours that take place within a largely unpredictable, complex and dynamic social environment. It is within this context that research becomes, as Daniel Wann (1997, p. 17) suggests, ‘the lifeblood of any scientific discipline. Without it, disciplines would stagnate, failing to advance past their current limits and understanding’. Our understanding of sport is therefore never complete. The social context within which sport takes place is always changing, whether as a result of long-term trends related to race, gender, or ethnicity, or more seismic occurrences, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, our knowledge is never absolute, and it is only through continual research that our understanding of sport continues. This understanding, in turn, informs future teaching and practice.

Research is not only for academia, however, and the skills associated with research are important not only for those wishing to publish in academic journals or to write a dissertation. There are countless professions where a knowledge and understanding of research methods is important. Those employed in the sport marketing industry, for example, may need to be able to assess the effectiveness of a particular promotional strategy or understand the process by which sport consumers adopt a new product. Sport development officers may need to assess the reasons for non-participation in physical activity by members of a particular community. Coaches may wish to identify the impact of a change in leadership style upon team cohesion. Governments may wish to measure the impacts of a pandemic upon the physical health of the population, and so on.

Finally, undertaking research also helps you develop more generic skills such as critical thinking, the ability to understand the importance of data to draw conclusions and the ability to communicate ideas to a wider audience, skills that are increasingly important in any context, but particularly so in contemporary society. A crucial skill you can develop is the ability to assess concepts such as ‘truth’ or ‘facts’. On a daily basis, we are fed such ‘facts’ through social media. An understanding of research is crucial in being able to assess the validity of the claims that are made and to be able to critically evaluate the information we receive on a continual basis is something that is essential within the post-truth era.

The characteristics of research

Leedy (1985) and Walliman (2001) note a number of characteristics of research. These include the following:

• Research is generated by a specific research question, hypothesis, or problem.
• Research follows a specific plan or procedure – the research process.
• Research is empirical – it aims at increasing understanding by interpreting evidence and reaching conclusions based on that evidence.
• Research requires reasoned argument to support conclusions.
• Research is reiterative – it is based on previous knowledge, which it aims to advance, but it may also develop further research questions, which in turn are answered by further research.

Research is therefore more than just searching for facts. Many people associate research simply with methods of data collection such as interviews and questionnaire surveys. Such data collection is just one part of a wider process, however, and other parts of this process are equally important. Six general stages can be identified:

1. Developing the idea, where you need to decide upon the research question, the aim of your research, the research objectives and, in most cases, the theoretical framework that underpins the research.
2. Planning the study, identifying what data are needed to answer the question, choosing a research design, identifying which methods will provide such data and where the data is obtained.
3. The actual data collection stage, where your data are collected by one or more research methods.
4. The analysis of the data – organising and explaining the findings with reference to previous work, and the theoretical framework adopted, or the generation of new theory.
5. Drawing appropriate conclusions, acknowledging both the strengths and limitations of the research and identifying further questions that emerge.
6. The reporting of the research to communicate the findings to others.

These are all part of what can be termed the research process. The research process refers to the various parts of the overall process that guides a research project. This will be dealt with in more depth in Chapter 3.

Why undertake research?

As I have already suggested, much of our knowledge about sport is based upon research carried out by others. By undertaking systematic investigation into certain areas, we have increased our knowledge about sport dramatically in recent years and can also maintain such understanding in a rapidly changing environment. The ways in which knowledge can be advanced by research are outlined by Hussey and Hussey (1997), who summarise the different purposes of research as follows:

• To investigate some existing situation or problem.
• To provide solutions to a problem.
• To explore and analyse more general issues.
• To construct or create a new procedure or system.
• To explain a new phenomenon.
• To generate new knowledge.
• A combination of two or more of any of these.

Each of these can be fruitfully applied to many different aspects of sport. A further – and equally valid – purpose of research is to allow you to engage with an aspect of sport that interests you, so that you can add to existing knowledge as a personal achievement. Carrying out research into a specific area is one of the best ways to develop your own understanding of a particular area of interest. Finally, you may also wish to enhance your employment prospects in a particular area of sport. Undertaking a detailed piece of research, for example in the form of a dissertation, is often a good way to convince an employer that you have the interest, competence and ability to undertake sustained independent study in a certain area.

KEY TERM

ACADEMIC JOURNAL

Reading journal articles is a good way to develop a broader understanding of what research actually is. Although the term journal may describe a number of different types of publication, I will generally be referring to academic peer-reviewed journals within this text. Academic journals are generally published several times a year and report the most up-to-date research on a particular discipline or area of interest, such as the economics of sport or sport marketing. Most academic journal articles have undergone some form of peer review process, whereby the quality and rigour of each article is assessed by a number of reviewers, each of whom will be an expert in their field. This ensures that the articles within such a journal are of an appropriate standard. Some relevant sport-related journals include:

• Sociology of Sport Journal.
• Journal of Sport Management.
• Journal of Sport Behavior.
• Journal of Sport and Social Issues.
• Journal of Sport and Tourism.
• International Review for the Sociology of Sport.
• European Journal of Sport Management.
• European Sport Management Quarterly.
• Sport Management Review.
• Sport in Society.
• Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health.

This is not an exhaustive list, and there are also a number of non-sport-specific journals that publish sport-related articles, so you shouldn’t focus entirely on the ones listed here. In addition, you should not restrict yourself to journals published in your home country, but remember that there are high-quality sport journals based all over the world, all sources of high-quality research.

The different types of research

There are a number of different ways of classifying research, depending upon the purpose of the research, the data that are collected and how such data are analysed. You don’t need to get too concerned with this typology when developing your research question, but it’s useful to have a broad understanding of the different types.

Exploratory research

Exploratory research takes place where there is little or no prior knowledge of a phenomenon. Thus, there is a need for an initial exploration before more specific research can be undertaken. This type of research looks for clues about the phenomenon, attempts to gain some familiarity with the appropriate concepts and looks for patterns or ideas emerging from the data without any preconceived ideas or explanation. An example of this would be the study of Hing et al. (2014), who investigated the impact of gambling promotions during televised sports events upon subsequent gambling intentions of young people, an area where there had been little prior research, or the exploratory study of Guicciardi and Pazzona (2020) to examine how people responded to the new norms of physical activity post-COVID-19 in Italy. The nature of exploratory research means that overly rigid research questions or hypotheses are inappropriate, and often the direction of the research will emerge as the study progresses. Exploratory research is often followed up by further research that tests any initial conclusions that are generated.

Descriptive research

Descriptive research describes a particular phenomenon, focusing upon the issue of what is happening, or how much of it has happened, rather than why it is happening. The study of Martinent et al. (2012), for example, which described the differences in the frequency, direction, duration and co-occurrence of emotions among table-tennis players, was a good example of this, as was Hanni et al.’s (2020) study to determine how many Swedish soccer players had experienced a soccer related concussion in their playing careers. With descriptive research, there is generally less focus on explaining the results obtained. Descriptive research is often used quantitatively to track changing patterns of sport, such as monitoring participation over time, or to assess or evaluate the outcome of something, such as an economic impact study of a mega event, or as is often the case with qualitative research, to present a ‘rich’ evocative picture of an aspect of sport to the reader, such as Gwartz and Spen...