Chapter 3:
Starting out:
research plans
and proposals
STAGES IN PLANNING RESEARCH PROJECTS (Fig. 3.1)
1. Select topic
2. Review literature
3. Devise conceptual framework
4. Decide research question(s)
5. List information needs
NB. Stages 1-4 may
occur in any order
and will probably
involve iteration
6. Decide research strategy
7. Obtain ethics clearance (if applicable)
8. Conduct Research
9. Report findings
10. Store data
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport
Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide.
London: Routledge
1. Choosing a topic: sources of ideas (Fig. 3.2)
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
Personal interest
The literature
Policy/management problems/issues
Social concerns
Popular/media-based issues
Published research agendas
Brainstorming re. topics arising from a – f
Opportunism
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
1. Topic selection - from the literature (Fig. 3.3)
Reason for
doing research
Theories/propositions/observations from the
literature:
Geographical
.. may have been tested only in one country or
region
Social
… may have been established on the basis of the
experience of one social group only
Temporal
… may be out of date
Contextual
… may have been established in fields other than
sport
Methodological
… may have been tested using only one
methodology
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
1. Topic selection: Purpose of research (Fig. 3.4)
Purpose/motive
Features
Pursue knowledge for its own sake
Academic/scientific criteria – may combine with others below
Ideologically driven:
- Conservative
- Reformist
- eg. social-democratic
- eg. environmental
- Radical/critical
- eg. neo-liberal
- eg. neo-Marxist
- eg. radical-feminist
- eg. anti-globalist
Policy/management:
- Critical
- Instrumental
- Defence of/acceptance of the status quo
- a more egalitarian society
- sustainability
- defence/extension of the market
- demonstration of class conflict/exploitation
- demonstration of patriarchy/women's oppression
- demonstrate undesirable features of global market trends
- Critiques current policy/management - may reflect one or
more radical/critical stances above
- Accepts broad philosophy of organisational milieu being
studied
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
2. Review literature: roles of the literature (Fig. 3.5)
• Can be the entire basis of the research
• Source of ideas on topics for research
• Source of information on research already done by
others
• Source of methodological or theoretical ideas
• Basis of comparison
• Source of information that is an integral/ supportive
part of the research
• + See Chapter 6
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
3. Devise conceptual framework
• A conceptual framework explains the main things to
be studied
• can be either graphical or in narrative form,–
• uses the key factors, constructs or variables – and
the presumed relationships among them.
• can be rudimentary or elaborate,
• theory-driven or commonsensical,
• descriptive or causal. (Miles and Huberman, 1994: 18)
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
Development of a conceptual framework (Fig. 3.6)
1. Explore/explain
relationships
between concepts
4. Operationalise
concepts
2. Identify/list
concepts
3. Define
concepts
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
Explore relationships between concepts – narrative eg.
Statements/hypotheses (concepts in red) (Fig. 3.7)
A.
Participation in a sporting activity arises as a result of an individual (or
household/ family) decision-making process.
B. Whether or not a person participates could depend on a variety of events and
circumstances. For example:
- the availability of and access to facilities may by good or bad;
- advertising and promotion may vary in quantity and influence;
- the cost of participation my be high or low;
- a chance event, such as meeting up with a group of friends, may trigger
participation.
C. Whether or not individuals participate will also depend on their characteristics,
such as:
- age
- income
- personality and
- past experience in participating in that or similar experiences.
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
Concept map example (Fig. 3.8)
Individual
characteristics:
Age
Income
Personality
Experience
Participant
C
Individual
A
B
Non-participant
Influencing event
or circumstances:
Availability/access
Advertising
Price
Chance event
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
Defining and operationalising concepts (Fig. 3.9)
• Participant
– Definition: Person who engages in sport or exercise
activity during leisure time.
– Operationalisation: Participation in sport or exercise
activity at le
– ast once in a week.
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
Defining and operationalising concepts (Fig. 3.9) contd
• Chance event:
– Definition: Unplanned occurrence which affects decision
to participate.
– Operationalisation: Events which an individual claims
affected recent decisions to participate: eg. past
experience, advice from friend/relative, item read or seen
in the media.
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
Defining & operationalising concepts (Fig. 3.9) contd
• Individual characteristics
– Definiton: Individual attributes (which influence leisure/
tourism decisions), for example:
•
•
•
•
a. Age
b. Income
c. Personality
d. Past leisure/tourism experience
– Operationalisation:
–
–
–
–
a. Age last birthday
b. Annual household income before tax
c. Results of Myer-Briggs test
d. Leisure: activities undertaken in last six months (from
checklist); Tourism: trips taken in last 5 years.
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
Operationalisation of concepts: further example: racial groups
and urban park use (USA) (West, 1989) (Fig. 3.10)
Concept
City park
Regional
park
Definition
Park within the
city
Park outside the
city
Operationalisation
All parks within Detroit city
boundaries
All parks located in three
counties surrounding Detroit
city
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
Urban parks, West (Fig. 3.10) contd
Concept
Definition
Operationalisation
Race
Ethnic/racial identity
Subjects' response to self-identification
question with the following categories:
black, Hispanic, white, other
Marginality
Limitations on
participation due to
a. limited income or
b. b. access to
transportation
Objective indicators: a. annual income
and b. automobile ownership
Subjective indicators: subjects'
reported perception of barriers to park
use: a. 'expense', b. transportation
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
Urban parks, West (Fig. 3.10) contd
Concept
Definition
Operationalisation
Subcultural
preference
Unconstrained preference
for use or non-use of
parks
Coded responses to open-ended
question on non-use of parks or
reasons for not using parks more
often, such as 'no interest' or
'prefer to do other things'
Inter-racial
constraints
Actual or subjective
feelings of racial
discrimination resulting in
feelings of being
'uncomfortable' or
'unwelcome' in parks
Coded responses to open-ended
questions on reasons for use/nonuse of parks and specific questions
on experience of 'negative
reactions of other people' in
parks.
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
Conceptual framework as quantifiable model (Fig. 3.11)
Conceptual framework/theory
The frequency of holiday-taking of a
particular group is positively related to the
group's average level of income
Concepts/variables
H = average number of holiday trips per year
N = annual income in £'000s
Relationship/equation
H = a + bN
Example of calibrated equation
(value of a and b found from
survey-based research)
H = 0.1 + 0.05N
Use of the equation for
prediction (assume N = £30k)
H = 0.1 + 0.05 x 30 = 0.1 + 1.5 = 1.6 trips a
year
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
Conceptual framework for holiday/leisure choice (Fig. 3.12)
Needs
HD/LF = Holiday destination/ Leisure facility
Based on Witt & Wright (1992)
Attractiveness of
HD/LF attributes
Relative preference
for difference
holidays/activities
Knowledge of
HD/LF
characteristics
Choice of
holiday/
activity
Actual
characteristics
of HD/LF
Satisfaction with
holidays/leisure
experience
Instrumentality of
holiday/activity for
providing attributes
Limiting factors, eg. cost,
others’ preferences,
disability access
Expectation of being able
to take the holiday/use the
facility being considered
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
Concept map: performance monitoring (Fig. 3.13)
Objectives
Key performance
indicators (Concepts
Measures
(operationalisaton)
Objective 1
KPI 1
Measure 1
Objective 2
KPI 2
Measure 2
Objective 3
KPI 3a
Measure 3a
KPI 3b
Measure 3b
Compare/assess
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
Conceptual framework: Market research study (Fig. 3.14)
Specify type
of attraction
Demand:
-% visiting
- frequency
-$ spent
Market profile:
- age
-socio-economic
group
National
surveys etc.
Specify local
market area
Local
population
Regional
population
(daytrippers)
Tourists
Local census/
tourist surveys etc.
+ forecasts/trends
Local demand
estimates
Total demand
for this type of
attraction in
local market
area
a. current
b. b. future
Inventory
Existing
attractions
Demand for
new attraction:
-quantitative
-qualitative
-present
-future
Quality
assessment
Surveys/focus
groups
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
4. Decide research question(s)
•
•
•
•
Questions or hypotheses?
A question requires an answer
A problem requires a solution
A hypothesis is expressed as a statement
which must be proved:
– ‘true’ (consistent with data), or
– ‘false’ (not consistent with data)
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
Research questions vs hypotheses (Fig. 3.16)
Research question
Hypothesis
A. Simple version
1. Pose research question: Why have
visitor levels declined in the last two
years at site X?
1. State hypothesis: Visitor levels
declined in the last two years at site X
because of the attraction of newer,
better value sites.
2. Conduct research.
2. Conduct research
3. Answer: Because of the attraction
of newer, better value sites.
3. Result: Consistent with the
evidence
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
Research questions vs hypotheses (Fig. 3.16)
Research question
Hypothesis
A. Simple version
1. Pose research question: Why have
visitor levels declined in the last two
years at site X?
1. State hypothesis: Visitor levels
declined in the last two years at site X
because of the attraction of newer,
better value sites.
2. Conduct research.
2. Conduct research
3. Answer: Because of the attraction
of newer, better value sites.
3. Result: Consistent with the
evidence
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
5. List information needs
• See Fig. 3.17 (based on Fig. 3.14)
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
Specify type
of attraction
Demand:
-% visiting
- frequency
-$ spent
Market profile:
- age
-socio-economic
group
-Demand levels (%)
-Frequency of visit
- $ spent per head
- Socio-economic
characteristics
-Age-structure
National
surveys etc.
Specify local
market area
Local
population
Regional
population
(daytrippers)
Tourists
Local demand
estimates
Total demand
for this type of
attraction in
local market
area
a. current
b. b. future
-Local/regional
population levels
and characteristics
-Tourist numbers
and characteristics
Local census/ tourist surveys
etc. + forecasts/trends
Inventory
Existing
attractions
Demand for
new attraction:
-quantitative
-qualitative
-present
-future
Quality
assessment
-User assessment of quality
of existing attractions
Surveys/focus groups
6. Decide research strategy
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Identify project elements/stages
Decide information gathering techniques to be used
Decide data analysis techniques to be used
Decide budget
Draw up timetable
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
Research programme diagram example (Fig. 3.19)
Week
Review brief
1/2
Review existing
research/data
Steering Committee meeting
3
4/5
6/8
Define concepts
etc.
Collect
inventory data
Focus groups
Design quest’re
Resident survey
Survey analysis
Draft report
Steering C’ttee meeting
Finalise report
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
Research project timetable, example (Fig. 3.20)
Week:
Review literature
Secondary data analysis
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Conduct survey
Analyse survey
Focus groups
Meetings with clients
✪
✪
✪
Write-up report
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
✪
8. Conduct the research
• See the rest of the book/course.
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
9. Communicate findings
• See chapter 18
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
10. Store data
• Numerous issues arise in relation to:
– Security of data
– The length of time for which it should be stored
– Storage format
– Protection of privacy of subjects
– Access for secondary analysis
• This is discussed particularly in Chapter 4.
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
The research process in the real world
• Research does not always follow the smooth
path suggested in the formal flow-charts
• See Fig. 3.21 for some problems which can
arise.
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
1. Select topic
2. Literature
3. Conceptual framework
4. Research question(s)
Cost/time factors
cause modification
to research
questions
5. List information needs
6. Research strategy
7. Ethics clearance
New literature causes
modification to lit.
review, etc.
Writing up process leads
to re-wording of
research questions
Consideration of info.
needs causes refining
of concept definitions
8. Conduct Research
Some re-design
required
9. Report findings
Pilot survey results
cause re-thinking of
research questions
10. Store data
Disagreements with
stakeholders
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
Case-studies of the research design
process
• See Case Studies:
– 3.3: Facility use
– 3.4: Evaluation public recreation services
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
RESEARCH PROPOSALS
• Self-generated:
– Academics seeking funding
– Student projects/theses
• Responsive
– Consultants responding to research briefs
prepared by potential clients (govt, commercial,
non-profit)
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
Self-generated research proposals content (Fig. 3.30)
Item
1
2
3
4
5
Background and justification for selection of topic.
(Preliminary) review of the literature.
Conceptual/theoretical framework/theoretical discussion.
Statement of research questions or hypotheses.
Outline of data/information requirements and research
strategy
6 Details of information collection methods: structured by
the research strategy, but including:
Fig. 3.1
Chapt
1
2
3
4
5, 6
3
3
3
3
3
6
-Literature
-Secondary data
-Empirical work
- Sampling
- Sample size
- Quality measures
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
6
7
7-12
Self-generated research proposals content: contd
Item
Fig. 3.1
Chapt
7
8
Ethical implications.
Data analysis methods. (Chapters 6-9, 11-12)
7
4
6
9, 11,12,
14-17
9
10
11
Timetable or work/tasks. (Section 6e above)
Budget ..costing of each element/stage/task
Report/thesis chapter outline ; No. & type of
publications.
Other resources, researcher skills/experience/'track
record' (necessary when seeking funds)
6d
3
6
3
9
18
6d
3
12
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
Responsive proposals: content
Item
Fig. 3.1
Chapt
1. Summary of key aspects of the proposal, including :- unique approach
- particular skills/experience of the consultants.
2. Re-statement of the key aspects of the brief +
interpretation/definition of key concepts.
3. Conceptual framework/theoretical discussion.
3
3
4. Research strategy - methods/tasks.
6
3
5. Details of information collection methods –
structured by the research strategy, but including:
- Literature
- Secondary data
- Fieldwork – quant or qual.
5, 6
2
6
7
7-12
13
13
- Sample sizes and justification
- Quality assurance
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
Responsive proposals: content contd
Item
Fig. 3.1
Chapt
6.
Timetable of tasks, including interim reporting/
meetings with clients/draft and final report
submission
6
3
7.
Budget: Costing of each element/stage/task
6
3
8.
Chapter outline of report + other reporting
formats – eg. interim reports, working papers,
articles.
9
18
9.
Resources available, staff, track record
A. J. Veal & S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge
3