Research methods in sport
Research is a brilliant way to improve knowledge and understanding about a subject. Humans have a
natural curiosity and want to succeed and be better and improve their skills or lifestyle. We can use
research to explore and understand our environment learning more and being able to answer some
questions or correct the way we think about things we thought we knew. In a sport environment
research can benefit a sports person or team and also the general health and well being of the wider
population. studies can give researchers or scientist more information on the benefits of sport and
help sports people or atheletes with their performance and techniques. Allowing them to reach their
full potential. Research in sport can give more information about the sport itself, sport experiences
and delivery of tactics, techniques and to help the atheletes optimise their training which will make
it more efficient and effective for them which will help them perform better
Different types of research. There are several types of research we can use in sport, the most
common are
Primary research is information that is collected by the researcher. The data collected in primary
research has not been collected before and is specific to the researcher’s objective or purpose.
Examples of primary research are interview, surveys, questionnaires and opinion polls. This type of
research is a good method because you have done it yourself and is reliable and up to date and
relevant and allows the researcher to control the ownership of the data they have collected. There
are disadvantages to primary research, It can be expensive and time-consuming taking a long time to
complete if it involves face-to-face contact with others. Primary research usually concentrates on a
particular issue or problem or question meaning it is very focused in the specific area that the
researcher is studying, a primary researcher will ask tailored questions to get the data they want to
help them with their study. A good example of primary research use in sport is measuring an
atheletes heart rate before and after exercise to do this yourself and collect the results is primary
research and also quantitative!
Secondary research is research that has already been collected and organised or published by others
so a secondary researcher use and analyse data from primary researchers. Examples of secondary
research is done by using a range of sources, texts books, academic studies, government documents
or historical records The key advantage of secondary research is that data is readily available making
it more economical. A Disadvantage of this research is that it might not answer the specific question
that is being asked. Another disadvantage can be that it is unreliable due to the fact that the
individual who carried out the research may have missed some key information which could have
affected the results or personal bias may have exaggerated some results. Secondary research is
often used to answer a new research question or to give a different perspective on the original
question of the primary researcher. An example of secondary research in sport is if you wanted to
find out how often a player had represented their team during their last season using the media or
published information online would help you find this information recorded by someone else but
widely available for others to use.
Quantitative research is data that can be counted or measured in numerical values and logic. The
two main types of quantitative data are discrete data and continuous data and is usually collected by
researchers using surveys, polls and questionnaires, the results being easy to display in a numerical
form. The biggest advantage of quantitative research is that there are very few variables the data
that is collected is close ended which means people are choosing multiple choice answers or a
simple yes or no. The main benefit of quantitative research is that it is fast, focused, scientific and
relatable and can be used to produce accurate and conclusive results and is also useful establishing
baseline data at the start of a project. Since quantitative data can be statistically analysed it is highly
Research is a brilliant way to improve knowledge and understanding about a subject. Humans have a
natural curiosity and want to succeed and be better and improve their skills or lifestyle. We can use
research to explore and understand our environment learning more and being able to answer some
questions or correct the way we think about things we thought we knew. In a sport environment
research can benefit a sports person or team and also the general health and well being of the wider
population. studies can give researchers or scientist more information on the benefits of sport and
help sports people or atheletes with their performance and techniques. Allowing them to reach their
full potential. Research in sport can give more information about the sport itself, sport experiences
and delivery of tactics, techniques and to help the atheletes optimise their training which will make
it more efficient and effective for them which will help them perform better
Different types of research. There are several types of research we can use in sport, the most
common are
Primary research is information that is collected by the researcher. The data collected in primary
research has not been collected before and is specific to the researcher’s objective or purpose.
Examples of primary research are interview, surveys, questionnaires and opinion polls. This type of
research is a good method because you have done it yourself and is reliable and up to date and
relevant and allows the researcher to control the ownership of the data they have collected. There
are disadvantages to primary research, It can be expensive and time-consuming taking a long time to
complete if it involves face-to-face contact with others. Primary research usually concentrates on a
particular issue or problem or question meaning it is very focused in the specific area that the
researcher is studying, a primary researcher will ask tailored questions to get the data they want to
help them with their study. A good example of primary research use in sport is measuring an
atheletes heart rate before and after exercise to do this yourself and collect the results is primary
research and also quantitative!
Secondary research is research that has already been collected and organised or published by others
so a secondary researcher use and analyse data from primary researchers. Examples of secondary
research is done by using a range of sources, texts books, academic studies, government documents
or historical records The key advantage of secondary research is that data is readily available making
it more economical. A Disadvantage of this research is that it might not answer the specific question
that is being asked. Another disadvantage can be that it is unreliable due to the fact that the
individual who carried out the research may have missed some key information which could have
affected the results or personal bias may have exaggerated some results. Secondary research is
often used to answer a new research question or to give a different perspective on the original
question of the primary researcher. An example of secondary research in sport is if you wanted to
find out how often a player had represented their team during their last season using the media or
published information online would help you find this information recorded by someone else but
widely available for others to use.
Quantitative research is data that can be counted or measured in numerical values and logic. The
two main types of quantitative data are discrete data and continuous data and is usually collected by
researchers using surveys, polls and questionnaires, the results being easy to display in a numerical
form. The biggest advantage of quantitative research is that there are very few variables the data
that is collected is close ended which means people are choosing multiple choice answers or a
simple yes or no. The main benefit of quantitative research is that it is fast, focused, scientific and
relatable and can be used to produce accurate and conclusive results and is also useful establishing
baseline data at the start of a project. Since quantitative data can be statistically analysed it is highly
