Notesale: Turn your study into money

Document Preview

Extracts from the notes are below, to see the PDF you'll receive please use the links above

---

Title
Drawing on examples of relevant research methods in sport, persuade the reader of
the applicability of one research technique to the production of knowledge about
sport
...


The essay will deal with a number of key topics in research, these include some
background of theory and research, a look at both positivism and interpretivism,
followed by a look at quantitative and qualitative research, finishing with a discussion
and conclusion
...
’

Theory and Research

When Elias (1986, p 20) cited in Gratton and Jones (2010, p 1) speaks about research,
he says, “the aim is to make known something previously unknown to human beings
...
” This view that research is simply about discovery is
developed by Thomas and Nelson (2006), who suggests that research is a careful and
systematic way of solving problems
...
g
...
This data can then be used to form social
theories, which Haralambos and Holborn (2008, p 7) define as “a set of ideas, which
claims to explain how society or aspects of society work
...
(Haralambos and Holborn, 2008) Due to the complexities of some
of these theories, relating them to the world we live in and incorporating them into
research is not an easy task
...
Bryman (2008) suggests that if theory guides
research it is known as deductive, but if the theory is an outcome of research it is
inductive
...


Positivism and Interpretivism

If we wish to carry out research, and research is the advancement of human
knowledge, (Elias, 1986) we must first look into research traditions around
knowledge
...
These two traditions form the foundation of two broad
approaches in the nature of knowledge, positivism and interpretivism
...
Human behaviour itself is objective
and tangible making it measurable and factual
...
g
...
Bryman (2008) states that this method is
seen as being deductive
...
When
the researcher is gathering data from a participant they have to interpret the meaning
and values behind what they are being told
...
g semi structured interviews
...


Qualitative and Quantitative Research

Bryman (2008) describes how qualitative research is not usually involved with the
collection or analysis of data
...
Bryman (2008) also
compares this to quantitative research in which he states that this type of deductive
research usually emphasises quantification in the collection and analysis of data
...
Bryman (2008, p 149) describes reliability as “the consistency of a
measure of a concept
...
Bryman (2008, p
151) describes validity as “the issue of whether an indicator that is devised to gauge a
concept, really measures that concept
...
This was useful information, however, it didn’t impact the underlying
issues, like emotions and experiences involved with the identified behaviour
...


Discussion

Using three key themes within this discussion, the author will now try to persuade the
reader of the appropriateness of semi-structured interviews over questionnaire
surveys, in the production of knowledge about obstacles to participation levels of
children and young people in physical activity and sport
...
” There are four main types, firstly postal
questionnaires, which are posted to the participant, completed and then posted back to
the researcher
...
An additional method
is via telephone or finally face-to-face questionnaires, where the researcher has a set

list of questions and writes down the answers as they hear them
...

Gratton and Jones (2010) explain that interviews can be classified under five
categories
...
The semistructured interview, which will be the main focus of this discussion, uses a set of
questions, however the researcher can change these or change their order to get the
richest data possible
...

Other types include the unstructured interview, where the researcher only has a set
number of topics up for discussion, the narrative interview, where participant
develops a story through their own experiences, and finally the focus group, or group
interview
...
(Gratton and
Jones, 2010)

Getting the Best Results

When getting the best results for a topic such as ‘participation in sport’, there are a
number of reasons why semi-structured interviews are better when compared with
questionnaires
...
Gray et al
...
The questionnaire must be easy to complete
otherwise they may not be filled in properly, or not completed at all
...
De Vaus (1995, p 107)
states “one of the most common criteria by which a method is judged is the response
rate it achieves
...
”
To gain valuable quantitative data, that explores the participant’s feelings and
emotions, complex, open questions need to be used, which can be confusing for
participants
...
Using open questions in
questionnaires can sometimes mean questions are not answered to the content level
required
...
Dagkas and Stathi (2007)
aimed to collect data on perspectives, orientation and participation
...


Bryman (2008) also suggests that respondents to questionnaires can look at all the
questions before commencing
...
Within a semi-structured interview setting, the ordering is up to the
interviewers discretion
...

(Gratton and Jones, 2010) Whitehead and Biddle (2008) found less unexpected data
emerging through questionnaire surveys, as they have a fixed number of questions
...

Semi-structured interviews can be a better way of gaining access to groups within the
population who may be very unwilling to complete questionnaires, e
...
If a questionnaire is sent to a group of young people, Bryman (2008)
suggests that you can never really be sure who has actually answered the
questionnaire
...


Relationships and Rapport

For some people, especially children, the subject of participation in sport can be a
sensitive issue
...
(Gratton
and Jones, 2010)

Interviewers who can build up a good rapport with participants have a much greater
possibility of gaining a response to probing questions about sensitive issues, such as
participation in sport
...
Also if the participant wants to
raise any issues regarding the interview process they have the researcher present to do
this
...

When looking specifically at interviewing young people, O’Donovan and Kirk (2008)
suggest that defusing the power relations between adults and young people is also
significant
...

In further attempts to reduce social desirability, Gray et al
...
This
would give the participant a greater feeling of familiarity, allowing them to open up
more, giving reliable in-depth answers
...
Interviews can also be cost-effective, provided the
researcher does not have to travel far to meet interviewees
...

When sending out a questionnaire to a young person or child, the chances are the
literacy of the respondents may be limited, certainly compared with adults
...

It is argued that only scientific research is valid in coming up with results
...
Interviews may also allow a sense of time and history to be
developed, putting responses into context, rather than just providing a one off picture
of results, which is sometimes the tendency of quantitative based research
...

However, Gray et al
...


Conclusion

This essay has sought to demonstrate the ways in which semi-structured interviews
are a more appropriate and adequate method for the study of obstacles to participation
levels of children and young people in physical activity and sport, than a the research
tool of using questionnaire surveys
...
In interviews, open questions can be used to gain the feelings
and emotions of the participant, which is needed to gain reliable data around the topic
of participation in sport
...
Also it has been suggested that unexpected data can emerge through
interviews due to the ordering of the questions that the interviewer uses, compared to
questionnaires where the participant can answer the questions in the order in which
they want
...
Interviews can be cost and time effective and practically more feasible for a
researcher, looking at the topic of obstacles to participation levels of children and
young people
...


Reference List

Bailey, K
...
Methods of Social Research (4th edition), Free Press
...
(2008)
...


Camiré, M
...
(2010)
...

15 (2), 193–207, Routledge
...
A
...
Surveys In Social Research: Social Research Today (4th
edition), Routledge
...
and Stathi A
...
13 (3), 369-384, SAGE Publications

Gilbert, N
...
Researching Social Life (2nd edition), SAGE Publications
...
and Jones, I
...
Research Methods for Sport Studies (2nd edition),
London: Routledge
...
and Holborn M
...
Sociology: Themes and Perspectives (7th
Revised Edition), Collins
...
L
...
Social Research Methods, Qualitative and Quantitative
Approaches (5th Edition), Allyn and Bacon
...
and Kirk, D
...
Reconceptualizing student motivation in
physical education: An examination of what resources are valued by preadolescent girls in contemporary society, European Physical Education Review
...


Thomas, J
...
Research Methods in Physical Activity (5th
edition), Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics
...
and Biddle, S
...
Adolescent girls’ perceptions of physical
activity: A Focus Group Study, European Physical Education Review

---