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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2021/2022

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Moray House School of Education and Sport : Sport

Undergraduate Course: Sport and Recreation Management (Advanced Research Methods) 3 (SPRT10005)

Course Outline
SchoolMoray House School of Education and Sport CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThe ability to perform, complete, and present research is a crucial element of the BSc Sport and Recreation Management programme. This course builds upon the professional research experiences students gained during second-year, and recontextualises sport and recreation research within a more academic, scholarly setting. The purpose of this course is to prepare students for the kinds of research they will be performing for their final-year dissertations, as well as the kinds of research utilised in governments, and sporting bodies' official publications, based as they are on academic research methods. This will involve analyses of the processes of knowledge production, the nature of various methods and methodologies, and the critical evaluation of secondary sources. Issues addressed will include epistemological assumptions, research strategies, design, and methodologies, as applied to sport and recreation. It will explore issues of validity and reliability in both qualitative and quantitative approaches.
Course description The module will include lectures specifically designing a research question, performing secondary research, and the presentation of a dissertation:

Ways of seeing the world
Formulating a research question, and writing a literature review
Generalisation: what can we claim with our data?
Ethics
The writing and presentation of data in a dissertation

The module also includes specific modules that examine different kinds of data collection, with lectures from appropriate instructors:

Interviews: planning, conducting, and analysis
Information skills
Quantitative data entry and analysis
Feminist approaches to research
Media research
Archival historical research

Indicative Content

Epistemological issues in research (ways of seeing the world); philosophy and ontology.
Paradigms -- the connection between theory and method.
Induction and deduction in research questions: multi-methods, choice, and triangulation.
Validity, reliability, and the limits of generalisation.
Developing proposals for research ¿ projects and dissertations.
Using statistics: managing and analysing numerical data
Specialism in methods: ethnography, media analysis, feminist research, historical research, policy research.
Ethics in research.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements Students must be enrolled on BSc Sport and Recreation Management Programme UTSPRMG
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2021/22, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Quota:  0
Course Start Semester 2
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 30, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 6, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 160 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Essay on methods and methodology (50%)
Learning outcomes 1 and 5

Proposal for a fourth-year BSc dissertation (50%)
Learning outcomes 2, 3, and 4
Feedback Not entered
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate understanding of epistemological, ontological, and methodological issues in sport and recreation research.
  2. Select research strategies and methodologies appropriate to particular research problems.
  3. Design research tools appropriate to particular research problems.
  4. Generate a proposal for research for a final-year project with appropriate methodology.
  5. Demonstrate understanding of the links between theory and method.
Reading List
Beyond these texts, the organiser requires a variety of discipline-specific texts available for individual lectures

Primary course text

Robson, C. (2011) Real World Research (3rd ed.). London, Routledge

Recommended literature on research methods


Bell, J. (2010) Doing Your Research Project (5th ed.) Buckingham, Open University Press

Berg, K. and Latin, R. (2008) Research Methods in Health, Physical Education, Exercise Science and Recreation (3rd ed.). Philadelphia, Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins

Blaxter, L., Hughes, C., and Tight, M. (2010). How to Research (4th ed.). Buckingham, Open University Press

Bryman, A. (2015) Social Research Methods (5th ed.). Oxford, Oxford University Press

Fleming, S. et al (eds) (2014) The Research Process in Sport, Exercise and Health: Case Studies of Active Researchers. London, Routledge

Long, J. (2007) Researching Leisure, Sport and Tourism: The Essential Guide. London, Sage

Pallant, J. (2013) SPSS Survival Guide (5th ed.). Maidenhead, McGraw Hill

Smith, A. and Waddington, I. (eds) (2014) Doing Real World Research in Sport Studies. London, Routledge

Creswell, J. W., & Plot, C. N. (2018) Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among 5 Approaches (4th ed.) London, Sage

Crotty, M. (1998) The Foundations of Social Research. London, Sage

Grix, J. (2010) The Foundations of Research (2nd ed.) Eastbourne, Palgrave Macmillan

Kucirkova, N., & Quinlan, O. (2017) The Digitally-Agile Researcher. Buckingham, Open University Press

Robson, C. (2011) Real World Research (3rd ed.). London, Routledge
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
Special Arrangements Outside students interested in taking this course should contact the course organiser before enrolling on it.
Keywordssocial science sport research methods
Contacts
Course organiserDr Matthew McDowell
Tel: (0131 6)51 6598
Email: Matthew.McDowell@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMrs Alta Mene
Tel: (0131 6)51 6381
Email: amene@ed.ac.uk
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