SPLD01 Research Methods

Introduction

This module is designed primarily for students taking sport-related courses, but knowledge and use of research methods is widely shared across a range of social science disciplines, so students from any other such discipline should find this useful too. It is important to focus on methods, almost to the exclusion of any actual content, at least until you find your bearings. Thus although there are important differences between them students of Outdoor Adventure should find something of interest in material devoted to discussing Leisure, Sport Development, Sport Management and others.

There are many ways to teach research methods too, and we use a wide variety of approaches. It will be necessary for you to choose approaches which suit you best – with any luck all will have something to offer. There are, for example

General texts, methods textbooks and general overviews, some of them on websites. Some of the ones we think are useful are found below. Note that some of them are available in ebook format, either through our Library or as Google books
Actual examples of published research, usually in the form of journal articles. We list some in specific teaching sessions. You can learn a lot about research methods by seeing how people actually do research in practice. There are also reading guides to some of these articles – notes DH has made as he has read them, intended to offer brief summaries and guides to the hard-pressed student. Most of the actual articles are available electronically
We offer teaching sessions in a variety of formats on central issues -- lecture/presentations and RLOs which we have designed ourselves or found on the sites of other universities. These are saved on our VLE or website in a form which permits you to use them independently, to some extent.
We have electronic resources in the form of a research methods database. We have searched for good resources on methods on websites and put links to them on this database. You can use this in a number of ways, working more independently – say you come across an article which uses Q-sorts and you want to find out more about the method, you can look up some useful sources and examples.

We hope you will use the materials on your other modules too. Critical evaluation of work in other areas often involves being able to comment on the methods used, for example. You will be doing some research of your own in dissertations or other projects, and it is important to be able to discuss methods, especially giving reasons for choosing particular methods.

However, the most immediate way to engage with this module might be through reviewing the assignments. There are 3:

The multi-choice test (30%). We provide you with links to two published articles. You need to read both and identify the main points concerning research methods. We construct a multi-choice test to assess your learning. Further details will be provided nearer the date of the test (usually Week 5), and you can see a specimen from previous year here.
Critical review (30%) We provide you with a list of suitable recent journal articles and you choose one to review. We provide headings to guide your discussion in a template which you can access here.
A research proposal (40%). As we go through the seminars, you will be choosing a small project and working in groups of 3 or 4. You will be trying to define a suitable research question on a relevant topic, discussing methods to research the topic, and trying out the methods in a pilot exercise. We provide headings to guide your individual write-ups, available here. We will be advising you as you go. Our role in seminars is also to feed in suitable material covered in lecture/presentations and RLOs. and to point out any implications arising from the material you have read for your other assignments

Introductory section Weeks 1—3

Week 1 Why research and why study research?

Powerpoint 1

In addition to the presentation, you might want to listen to some introductory podcasts: one discusses why we need to do research at all, and the other further explains the optimal way to tackle a research methods module specifically.

Week 2 Arguments and methods – rhetoric and research

Powerpoint 2

In addition, have a look at these:

Garrety, K. (1997) 'Social Worlds, Actor-Networks and Controversy: The Case of Cholesterol, Dietary Fat and Heart Disease', in Social Studies of Science 27: 727 - 73.Reading Guide: (

Piggin, J., Jackson, S., And Lewis, M. (2009) ‘Knowledge, Power and Politics: Contesting “Evidence based” National Sport Policy’, in International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 44 (1): 87 – 101 Reading Guide: (

Week 3 What makes a good argument?

Powerpoint 3

In addition, look at this RLO based on Toulmin and Habermas and their views of a properly constructed argument (RLO at

Weeks 4—8 Quantitative methods

Week 4 Surveydesign[includes sampling basics? Or another lecture? ]

Powerpoint 4

RLO:

Week 5 Questionnaires and structured Interviews

Powerpoint

Additional RLOs:

Week 6 Systematic observation

Powerpoint 6

RLO:

Week 7 Data display and basic statistics

Powerpoint (IR)

RLO:

And

Week 8 Overview of quantitative approaches – problems of measurement and scientific method

Powerpoint 7

Additional RLOs

And

Weeks 9 -- 11 Qualitative Approaches

Week 9 Ethnographic interviewing

Powerpoint

Week 10Ethnographic observation

Prezi presentation

RLO:

Week 11autoethnography

RLO:

Week 12 Overview –interpretation and coding

Powerpoint

Week 13 Mixed methods – the evaluation of policy

Powerpoint

The Magenta Book (http://www.nationalschool.gov.uk/policyhub/magenta_book/)

Reading guides:

Pringle, A., Gilson, N., McKenna, J., and Cooke, C. (2009) ‘An evaluation of the Local Exercise Action Pilots and impact on moderate physical activity’, in Health Education Journal, 68 (3): 179 – 185.Reading guide: http:/

Smith, A and Waddington, I (2004) 'Using "sport in the community schemes" to tackle crime and drug use among young people: some policy issues and problems', in European Physical Education Review, 10 (3): 279 – 98. Reading guide:

Additional RLOs for background:

A brief introduction to semiotics:

Introduction to visual data:

Some thoughts on positivism:

Visual research in ethnography:

Research Methods database:

Student Exercises

RLOs:

Questionnaires :

Interviews:

Participant observation:

Systematic observation: