PEP 618 – Seminar in Sport Research (2020 Spring)
Course Description
This course is designed to assist graduate students of the sport administration program with understanding the process of conducting research projects in sport and to develop their own independent research studies. The course focus neither on how to do any particular methodology nor on how to write a dissertation, but rather how researchers can utilize various methodologies in designing better research studies.
Constructing a research design is an involved process that needs longer than a semester for complete engagement and mastery. This course is designed to complement previous coursework, and toward this end, the course touches upon various topics that are important for constructing solid research.
It is an expectation that students read books and research articles (assigned and individually sought out) which provide examples of research designs, critique quantitative and qualitative methodologies, and expand their understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of chosen approaches.
Prerequisites are:
PEP 507 Research Design or equivalent
Also, take a look at my suggested course sequences
Objectives
Students will be expected to learn to:
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Develop an appropriate and testable research question and sub-questions when exploring a sports administration topic or problem;
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Understand the role of theory and previous literature in the creation of a research design;
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Read and critique relevant research articles on various topics in sports administration to assess the research evidence on a given topic;
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Have a better understanding of various types of research design and methods;
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Develop a research proposal that reflects knowledge of good principles of research design.
Required Readings
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Reading list (pdfs of the journal articles in our list will be provided through the e-learning website). If a pdf is not present you can alert me or you can search for it on the library catalog as all of the articles used in the class are available for download. The readings that are particularly important are denoted with letter "A".
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Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). (2010). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Additional Resources
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De Vaus, D. A. (2001). Research design in social research. London: Sage.
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Trochim, B., & Donnelly, J. (2008). The research methods knowledge base (3rd ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.
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Rudestam, K.E. & Newton, R.R. (2007). Surviving your dissertation. Sage Pub. – 3rd ed.
Evaluation
Category | Sub-category | Points |
---|---|---|
CITI Ethics Course | Required to pass the course | |
Research Paper | One-page Idea Paper | 10 |
Written Paper | 100 | |
Presentation | 30 | |
Journal Article Reviews(2) | Presentation | 100 (50 each) |
Written critiques | 60 (30 each) | |
Discussion (3) | 60 (20 each) | |
Final Exam | 60 | |
Participation and Quizzes | 80 | |
TOTAL | 500 |
Assignment Overview
CITI Ethics Course (must be completed to pass the course)
Complete the online training for human subjects. The UNM IRB (http://irb.unm.edu/training) uses CITI program (https://www.citiprogram.org) for researcher training. Human subjects protections training courses have been developed to help the research community better understand when proposed research activities trigger regulatory and policy requirements. There are several online courses to choose from. You will want to select the course labeled as "Main Campus Researchers- Basic Course." This is a relatively extensive training that takes about 5-8 hours to complete; the training can be completed in chunks. To access the training https://www.citiprogram.org/, you will need to create a user account at citiprogram homepage. When prompted, enter the institution as "University of New Mexico" and be sure to use your UNM Net ID as the email address. Once you have completed the course, download and submit a Course Completion Report. This CITI ethics training must be completed in order to pass the PEP618 course. The due date of this training is Week 8.
Weekly Reading
The methods of instruction for this course will primarily consist of seminar-based discussions Students are required to read several article or book chapters each week. There usually will be two types of readings.
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Foundational reading on research design and methods. These readings provide a good introduction to the topic and should help if you have no background in the area.
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Two to three articles selected by students who present on a given topic in the week. These articles represent our discipline’s efforts to generate knowledge. Each student should read these articles carefully and critically and be ready to discuss them in the class.
The reading list may be updated throughout the term in order to include recent publications and accommodate class interest.
A quiz on assigned readings may be administered each class. Each quiz will take no more than 10 minutes to complete (i.e., No student will be allowed to take more than 10 minutes to answer the quiz questions). Approximately 10 quiz will be administered through the semester.
Class Participation
Class participation is critical. If you do not express your ideas, you cannot learn. All participants are expected to participate in the discussions actively by asking questions, offering opinions, and engaging other participants in an exchange of ideas. The instructor will maintain a session log noting discussion participants. The instructor will give a total of 5 points of a given week’s discussion; failure to engage in some portion of a week’s discussion will be graded as non-participation for that week.
Journal Article Reviews and Presentations
Depending on the size of the class, each student is expected to choose at least two research topics among the options provided in the class, search and find a related article for both topic areas, review the articles in written form, and verbally present the reviews of the two articles in the class. The written critiques should be turned in before the class meet.
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If you are not sure what kind of journals you should select, here is a list of sample journals in sport management.
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If you are not sure what kind of articles you should present, here is a list of sample articles.
Research Proposal
A student needs to develop a research proposal on a sport administration topic of his/her own choice. The proposals should include the following sections: introduction, review of literature and theoretical framework, hypotheses, significance of study, and method that contains information on research participants, measurement, design and procedures, and data analyses. A student should be able to identify an available measure(s) in the published literature. When such a measure is not available, the student will have to outline the procedures to develop a scale using inductive or deductive procedures and conducting examinations for validity and reliability. The students will have to present their papers to the class.
Here are a guideline for research proposal.
Discussion Assignments
Through the semester, students will be required to complete several discussion assignments. All discussion questions should be posted on the discussion board of the learn system. Additionally, all students are required to respond to two others with thoughtful answers before the deadline for full credit.
Here is the link to discussion assignment
Final Exam
Details will be given in class.
Weekly Schedule
The weekly schedule may be modified at any time by the course instructor. Notice of such changes will be by announcement in class or by email notice.
Week 1: Course introduction; Presentation schedule; Overview of the field.
SCHEDULED:
TODO Due this week: Information sheet
Week 2: The scientific research process
SCHEDULED:
Readings:
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Kerlinger, F. & Lee, H. (2000). Foundations of Behavioral Research, 3rd Edition. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace & Company, Read Ch 1, pp 3-20. “Science and the Scientific Approach” PDF
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Rudestam, K.E. & Newton, R.R. (2007). Surviving your dissertation. Sage Pub. Read, Ch1, pp 5-8, “The Research Wheel” PDF
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Baumgartner, Ted A., and Larry D. Hensley. Conducting & Reading Research in Kinesiology. McGraw-Hill Connect Learn Succeed, 2013. Read Ch 1, pp 8-14. “The Search for Knowledge” “The Scientific Method” PDF
TODO Due: Discussion 1
After reading Kerlinger & Lee’s Chapter 1, find an article that represents science (not common sense) in sport management. Using the five differences between science and common sense to argue why the selected article represents scientific research. Structure your discussion in the following format: (1) Citation in APA format; (2) a brief summary of the science presented in the article; (3) why you believe it represents science (not common sense).
Week 3: Manuscript structure and content
Week 4: Selecting a suitable topic
Readings:
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Chalip, L. (2006). Toward a Distinctive Sport Management Discipline. Journal of Sport Management, 20(1), 1-21 PDF (A)
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Heppner, P. P., & Heppner, M. J. (2009). Writing your thesis, dissertation, and research. Cengage. Read Ch1 pp1-19 “Identifying your topic and making it researchable”. PDF
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Rudestam, K.E. & Newton, R.R. (2007). Surviving your dissertation. Sage Pub. Read, Ch2, pp 9-22 “Selecting a suitable topic” PDF
TODO Due: Discussion 2
After reading Heppner & Heppner’s Chapter 1, reflect on your own area of study.
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List your top learning priorities for your research;
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What variables in your research topic interest you the most?
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List possible research questions within your topic that interest you the most. For each research question, evaluate the (a) feasibility or how realistic it is to conduct this study, (b)testability, and (c) significance of the study in addressing current societal needs and making meaningful contributions to the professional literature.
Week 5: The use of theories; Development of a theoretical Framework(s).
Readings:
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Wacker, J. G. (1998). A definition of theory: research guidelines for different theory-building research methods in operations management. Journal of operations management, 16(4), 361-385.(A) PDF
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Cunningham, G. B. (2013). Theory and theory development in sport management. Sport Management Review, 16(1), 1-4.PDF
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Doherty, A. (2013). Investing in sport management: The value of good theory. Sport Management Review, 16(1), 5-11.PDF
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Chelladurai, P. (2013). A personal journey in theorizing in sport management. Sport Management Review, 16(1), 22-28.PDF
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Additional, in case you need to find theories: Perrin, K. M. (2015). Principles of evaluation and research for health care programs. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Read Ch. 4 “Theories and models”.PDF
TODO Due: Discussion 3
Select a topic of your interest and provide justification that the problem is a significant one that merits attention. Identify and list two theories that other researchers and practitioners have used to address this problem. Summarize the key constructs in each theory and the linkages between them for each theory.
Week 6: Literature Review; Development of a theoretical Framework(s).
Readings:
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Rudestam, K.E. & Newton, R.R. (2007). Surviving your dissertation. Sage Pub. Read, Ch4 PDF
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Grant, C., & Osanloo, A. (2014). Understanding, selecting, and integrating a theoretical framework in dissertation research: Creating the blueprint for your “house”. Administrative Issues Journal, 4(2), 4. PDF
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2-3 conceptual development articles to be presented this week.
TODO Student presentations: Journal Article Reports on Conceptual Development Studies
1 2
Week 7: Research Method Section; Measurement theories
Readings:
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APA Manual Chapter 2 (read again)
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Aronson, E., Ellsworth, P., Carlsmith, J. M., and Gonzolez, M. (1990). Methods of Research in Social Psychology (2nd Edition). New York:McGraw-Hill. Read Ch. 8, “The Dependent Variable,” pp. 240-248,(Intro) pp. 251-253 (Likert Scales), pp.255-257 (Semantic Differential Scales)pp. 263-271 (Verbal Measures, Behavioral Measures) pp. 280-291 (Reliability and Validity). PDF
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Two measurement articles to be presented this week.
TODO Student Presentations: Journal Article Reports on Measurement Studies
1 2
TODO Due this week: One-page research project idea. Turn it in in class.
Week 8: Measurement theories (Reliability and validity)
Lecture notes from 507 in case you need to review the course materials http://www.unm.edu/~lmao/507/note5.html
Readings:
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Tromkin Chapter 3 PDF
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Two measurement articles to be presented this week.
TODO Student Presentations: Journal Article Reports on Measurement Studies
1 2
TODO Submit your citi training completion certificate.
Week 9: Spring break
Week 10: Sampling; Descriptive research & relational research; Cross-sectional design
Readings:
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De Vaus, D. A. (2001). Research design in social research. London: Sage. Read Ch. 10, pp. 170-175, “Cross-sectional Design” PDF
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Two cross-sectional design articles to be presented this week.
TODO Student Presentations: Journal Article Reports on Survey Research (Cross-sectional)
1 2
Week 11: Descriptive research & relational research; Longitudinal design
Readings:
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De Vaus, D. A. (2001). Research design in social research. London: Sage. Read Ch. 7, pp. 113-130, “Types of Longitudinal Design” PDF
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Two longitudinal research articles to be presented this week.
TODO Student Presentations: Journal Article Reports on Survey Research (Longitudinal)
1 2
Week 12: Experimental Designs
Readings:
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Keppel, G. (1991). Design and analysis: A researcher’s handbook. Chapter 1, pp. 3-20 “Design of Experiments” PDF
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Two experimental research articles to be presented this week.
TODO Student Presentations: Journal Article Reports on Experimental Studies
1 2
Week 13: Qualitative Research
Readings:
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Creswell, J. W., & Miller, D. L. (2000). Determining validity in qualitative inquiry. Theory into practice, 39(3), 124-130.PDF
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Shenton, A. K. (2004). Strategies for ensuring trustworthiness in qualitative research projects. Education for information, 22(2), 63-75. PDF
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Two qualitative research articles to be presented this week.
TODO Student Presentations: Journal Article Reports on Qualitative Studies
1 2 3