CHAPTER SEVEN

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CHAPTER SEVEN RESEARCH DESIGNS FOR SPORT STUDIES
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• RESEARCH DESIGNS
• The research design is the overall blueprint
  that guides the researcher in the data collection
  stages.
• A number of different research designs exist,
  including
• Experimental.
• Cross-sectional.
• Time series.
• Longitudinal.
• Case study.
• Ethnography.

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1. Experimental Test effect of independent
variable on dependent variable. More for science
based projects. For example, interested in
influence of crowd on anxiety pretest
post-test effect anxiety(1) ? crowd
? anxiety(2) effect anxiety (2)
anxiety (1) What about any moderating
variables? Learning, increased self-efficacy
etc. all may have an effect.
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So group a - treatment (crowd) group b -
no treatment (control) All other variables
remain constant (to some extent!) pretest post-
test effect A anxiety(1) ? crowd ?
anxiety(2) x (2 - 1) B anxiety(3) ? no
treatment ? anxiety(4) y (4 - 3) Effect of
crowd x y You MUST have a control group
wherever possible. Ethical issues apply to
experimental research depending on treatment.
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DEMONSTRATING CAUSALITY USING EXPERIMENTAL
DESIGNS Three conditions need to be met 1.
Covariation - As the independent variable
changes, then so does the dependent variable. 2.
Time order - It is important to ensure that the
independent variable (i.e. the cause) actually
happens before the effect upon the dependent
variable. 3. Non-spuriousness - Some
relationships may be due to the existence of an
additional variable. Thus, all variables need to
be accounted for.
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2. Cross-sectional Most common design. Take a
(cross-sectional) sample of your population. Each
subject provides data only once. Can use this
design to approximate an experimental
design. Q.1 Rate your anxiety at your last
performance. Q.2 Was there a crowd present?
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Crowd present Anxiety 0 3 10 5 15 6 100
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variables especially as no control group. Need
to ask questions about moderating variables can
make questionnaire long!
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3. Time series Extended measures before and after
introduction of independent variable. Does
competing against a particular opponent raise
anxiety? O1 O2 O3 Ind O4 O5 O6 O Measure Ind
treatment (game against team) Allows you to
account for game-by-game fluctuations.
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• Question
• How successful is Town Xs Sport Development
  Policy (introduced 2003 for one year)?
• Why not measure
• participation at beginning of year
• participation at end of year?

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Is the policy successful?
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20 0
2002 2003 2004
Is the policy still successful?
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20 0
2002 2003 2004 2005
Is the policy still successful?
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Add a control if possible
20 0
2002 2003 2004 2005
Is the policy still successful?
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• You need to consider the
• time
• resources
• required to do such a study.

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4. Longitudinal Same sample measured over an
extended time period. How do sport students
develop skills over their degree
programme? Measure skills at start, end of Year
1, end of Year 2 etc. Can last from 6 months
many years! Therefore not recommended for
student projects! What if people drop out
(attrition)?
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If you wanted to do a longitudinal style design,
you can approximate longitudinal with
Cross-sectional designs. Ask people to recall
past attitudes or behaviours, to state their
present attitudes and behaviours, and predict
their future attitudes and behaviours. Obviously
not as reliable or valid
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• 5. Case study
• Take one case (group/organisation/team/individual)
  to
• study in depth.
• Choose a case that is
• Typical greater external validity.
• Extreme shows theory to greatest extent, e.g.
  study on hooliganism may choose case study of
  Millwall FC.
• Interesting e.g. new surf reef at
  Bournemouth.

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• 6. Ethnography
• Generally qualitative approach.
• Associated with researching a group.
• Become part of the group.
• Understand the group from the groups (emic)
  perspective rather than your (etic) perspective.
• Collect data using whatever means possible at
  whatever time you can.

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Ethnographic approaches
Observation
Participant observation
Research question
Interviews
Focus groups
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What is ethnography? Ethnography is the study of
people in naturally occurring settings or
fields by methods of data collection which
capture their social meanings and ordinary
activities, involving the researcher
participating directly in the setting, if not
also the activities, in order to collect data in
a systematic manner but without meaning being
imposed on them externally. (Brewer 2000,
p.189) The ethnographer participates, overtly or
covertly, in people's daily lives for an extended
period of time, watching what happens, listening
to what is said, asking questions in fact
collecting whatever data are available to throw
light on the issues with which he or she is
concerned. (Hammersley Atkinson, 1995, p.2)
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• Could I do an ethnography?
• Am I looking to study one group in depth?
• Am I looking to gain an understanding of that
  group?
• Can I gain access to the group?
• Will I be able to collect valid and reliable
  data?

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• SELECTING A SAMPLE
• Define the population. The population consists
  of every individual case that possesses the
  characteristic that is of interest to the
  researcher.
• The second stage is to determine your sampling
  method. A number of sampling techniques can be
  used. The most common associated with
  quantitative research are
• Random sampling.
• Stratified random sampling.
• Cluster sampling.
• Systematic sampling.

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RANDOM SAMPLING A random sample is where every
member of the population has an equal probability
of being selected. It is the best technique to
obtain a representative sample, and produce
findings that will be generalisable to the
overall population.
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• OBTAINING A RANDOM SAMPLE
• The first stage is to define your population.
• The next stage is to ensure that each member of
  this population has an equal chance of being
  selected
• Place the names of all the population in a
  container, and pick names until the desired
  sample size has been achieved.
• Each name can be assigned a number, and a random
  number table or computer software can be used to
  select the sample.

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STRATIFIED RANDOM SAMPLING If there are certain
subgroups within the population, for example
based on age, sex and so on, then it may be
necessary to ensure that they are adequately
represented in the final sample. In this case,
the population is divided into subgroups. Random
samples are then taken from within these groups.
Thus, you may divide your population into
male and female, and randomly select 50 per
cent of your sample from the list of your male
participants, and the remaining 50 per cent from
the list of your female participants.
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CLUSTER SAMPLING Where groups are randomly
selected, rather than individuals. Thus, if the
researcher was interested in the attitudes
towards intimidatory behaviour in little league
baseball, then a number of teams could be
selected at random, and all players within those
teams questioned. It is important to select a
number of clusters to ensure generalisability
with this method.
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SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING Involves selecting every
Kth case, for example taking every fourth name
from a list, or every seventh person to enter a
sports facility. Systematic sampling is best
recommended when the list from which the names
are taken is randomly ordered, otherwise some
bias is likely to occur.
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NON-PROBABILITY SAMPLING METHODS There are a
range of non-probability sampling methods, which
will be of interest to the qualitative
researcher. The term sample is perhaps less
appropriate here, with selection more
reflective of the process, as generalisability is
not the prime concern of the qualitative
researcher. The focus is more upon a sample who
can describe, explain and illuminate the
phenomena that is being explored.
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SNOWBALL SAMPLING Locate your initial
participants, and these initial participants
identify further potential participants
themselves. Thus, you may find access to a
gatekeeper, or influential member of your
population. They can then introduce you to other
participants, who themselves will be able to give
you access to further participants. One
potential advantage of this is that by being
introduced by a known member of the population,
you may be able to engender greater trust between
researcher and subject, with subsequent
improvement in the quality of your data.
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THEORETICAL SAMPLING Identify cases that
demonstrate a particular theory particularly
well. Use where a random sample would be
unlikely to demonstrate the theory or concept
under investigation.
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TYPICAL CASES Your sample is chosen on the
basis that they are typical of a particular
theory.
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EXTREME CASES You choose cases that are extreme
cases of a theory. An example of this would be
an investigation into the personality
characteristics of elite athletes. You may wish
to sample Olympic medal winners as extreme cases.
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OPPORTUNISTIC You select samples as they arise,
taking advantage of unexpected opportunities.
For example you may be introduced to a
particular key informant at an unexpected time.
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CONVENIENCE The sample is chosen as it is
convenient in terms of location, accessibility,
etc. Try to avoid convenience samples as far as
you can it is always tempting to hand out
questionnaires to those you are in day to day
contact with, or interview people that you know!
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KEY INFORMANT TECHNIQUE Individuals are chosen
on the basis of specific knowledge that they
possess, for example they may have a particular
role or responsibility within an organisation.
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• MISTAKES MADE IN SELECTING A SAMPLE
• Some of the common errors made in sampling
  include
• Selecting individuals who are convenient, or
  readily available, for example individuals that
  are already known to the researcher.
• Selecting individuals who volunteer to take part
  as well as those who are more randomly selected
  without reference to the potential differences
  between these.
• Introducing bias through selecting a non-random
  sample.
• Using a random sample when other sampling
  methods would be more appropriate.
• Not obtaining a large enough sample for the
  purposes of the project.

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• ASSESSING THE ETHICS OF YOUR RESEARCH
• Make sure you read the codes of conduct laid down
  by your specific discipline (e.g. American
  Psychological Association or the British
  Psychological Society). Such codes generally
  include the following key requirements
• Risks to participants are outweighed by the
  benefits of the research programme.
• Participation should be voluntary.
• Risks to participants are eliminated or
  minimised as far as possible, including
  psychological and social, as well as physical
  risks.

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• All information should be treated as strictly
  confidential.
• The participants have the right to be informed
  of the purpose of the study.
• Participants may withdraw at any time.
• Participants should be debriefed after the
  research programme.
• Ensure that you gain ethical approval from the
  relevant committee at your institution before any
  research programme involving ethical issues
  commences.

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SUMMARY 1. You should have a carefully
considered approach to the collection of your
data, in terms of who you will collect data from,
when such data will be collected, and how such
data will be collected. This is your research
design. 2. We have identified six research
designs experimental, cross-sectional, time
series, longitudinal, case study and ethnography.
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3. Whatever research design you adopt, it is
unlikely that you will be able to collect data
from the entire population. Thus you will have to
collect data from a smaller group within that
population your sample. 4. You will also have
to choose the methods by which you are going to
collect data from that sample.
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5. It may be possible to increase the validity
of your research by undertaking some form of
triangulation. Triangulation means collecting
data from more than one perspective for example
it may involve collecting qualitative, as well as
quantitative data. 6. You will also need to
consider the ethical issues involved in your
research. If in doubt, you should gain approval
from the committee responsible for ethical issues
at your institution.