SPT 501: An Essay on Research Methods in Sports Management

This essay examines research methods in sports management, drawing on Morse and McEvoy's (2014) qualitative case study approach. It discusses the importance of qualitative methods in developing effective questionnaires and research frameworks, while also acknowledging potential biases that necessitate quantitative approaches. The essay highlights the significance of selecting appropriate data collection methods based on the type and nature of data, emphasizing the strengths and weaknesses of both qualitative and quantitative techniques. It advocates for a mixed-methods approach to combine deductive and inductive reasoning, reducing biases and enhancing the reliability of research findings in sports management.

Running head: RESEARCH METHODS IN SPORTS MANAGEMENT
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Research methods in sports management
Name of Student
Institutional Affiliation
Name of Professor
Date

RESEARCH METHODS IN SPORTS MANAGEMENT
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Research methods in sports management
The findings of Morse and McEvoy (2014) gives details of a qualitative research in
the management of sports using a case study to present their research study. In the article, the
authors progressively explain the use of qualitative methods to gather data that helps in
understanding different situations that evolve around the management of sporting activities. The
approach used is vital in the development of effective questionnaires that invoke a deeper sense
to the research questions. Additionally, another purpose of the article is the development of the
research framework by application of the qualitative technique that gives way to the application
of the quantitative data analysis method. The authors establishes that the application of
qualitative research could lead to errors that can only be addressed using the quantitative
approach. The use of the interviews and the open-ended questionnaires in qualitative method
could be easily prone to biases that lead to inaccuracy and unreliable data (Rumbold, Fletcher,
and Daniels, 2018, pp.27-38). For instance, in cases of financial accounting in sports
management, the article puts the emphasis of application of the quantitative method due to the
massive interaction with numeric figures. The raw data collected from the annual reports,
budgets, and records calls for the implementation of mixed methods could be a potential solution
to the errors.
However, (Holt et al., 2018, pp.1111-1117) deduces that determining the type and
nature of the data to be collected is the key to selecting the suitable method to collect data in
sporting activities. This is very vital for a sports management researcher given the wide range of
information that can be collected. Additionally, before data collection, the type of sampling to be
used heavily determines the outcomes of the findings in terms of viability among other factors.

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The method of sampling and data collection should be inclined to answering the research
questions for the study to be projected to a bigger group. For a sports research, collecting the
relevant data is crucial especially for the recipients of the study results. The departments in sports
involving finance and pricing tickets would be effective with the application of quantities
research for collecting data from these sections while for collecting data from the fans, online
reviews, or the participants would require the use of qualitative methods. However, both the
methods will have a weakness to the sports management researcher. The quantitative approach is
unsuitable/weak in understanding the context in which the data will be collected whereas
qualitative does not comply with the statistical analyses and generalization. Concisely, a single
technique will be inappropriate where there is demand for application of observation and first
hand analyses during the recording of the collected data. Therefore, combining the two methods
will provide deductive and inductive thinking with logical reasoning during data collection thus
reducing the incidences of biases in research as acknowledged by (Thurman, 2018).

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References
Holt, N. L., Pankow, K., Camiré, M., Côté, J., Fraser-Thomas, J., MacDonald, D. J., ... &
Tamminen, K. A. (2018). Factors associated with using research evidence in national
sport organisations. Journal of sports sciences, 36(10), 1111-1117.
Morse, A., & McEvoy, C. (2014). Qualitative research in sport management: Case study as a
methodological approach.
Rumbold, J. L., Fletcher, D., & Daniels, K. (2018). Using a mixed method audit to inform
organizational stress management interventions in sport. Psychology of Sport and
Exercise, 35, 27-38.
Thurman, N. (2018). Mixed methods communication research: Combining qualitative and
quantitative approaches in the study of online journalism. SAGE Research Methods
Cases. London