1. Sport Studies Seminar: QUANTITATIVE APPROACHES
Research – Sport - Sociology – Ethics – History
Sport Studies Seminar: QUANTITATIVE APPROACHES

2. Lead Lectures: Weeks 5-7 How would you explain quantitative research?
What is the nature of quantitative research?
When and why would we use a quantitative approach?
When would a quantitative approach be inappropriate?

3. Quantitative Approaches
Usually presuppose a positivistic approach to knowledge and understanding
True/valid forms of knowledge is scientific, objective and tangible
Involves precise measurements
These measurements are quantitative and can be statistically tested
Usually try to establish relationships, cause and effect, correlation etc.

4. Quantitative/Qualitative
Quantitative Approaches
Precise measurements
Measure and test
Controllable
Statistically relevant
Quantify and register: how much, how often, to what degree, cause and effect
Prediction
Generalization of results (large samples)
Fixed variables
Qualitative Approaches
Naturalistic and interpretive
Context-richness
Understanding and explaining: why? Ideas, feelings, opinions and perspectives.
Explanation
Depth
Illumination
Social phenomena
The approach a researcher takes is largely dependent on the specific question they are attempting to answer.
These specific questions, however, reflect the researchers beliefs about what is important or significant in the context of a particular phenomena or issue (and different researchers may disagree here).

5. What effect has the recession had on sports participation?
Quantitative approach
Analysing data of sports club memberships and admissions over a period of time?
Survey data?
Qualitative approach
Case study/ethnography
Interview different groups and families regarding their own experiences of sporting participation in light of the recession?
Questionnaires?

6. Quiz: Quantitative or Qualitative (or potentially both!?) – and why!?
Is there a relationship between social class and participation in certain sporting activities?
Has the participation of females in rugby union increased over the past 30 years?
What are the experiences of ethnic minority groups in terms of negative stereotyping in sport?
What are the attitudes of amateur football players towards alcohol?
Has the traditional football fan been priced out and alienated from a hyper-commercialised football environment?

8. Sports Illustrated Aims an objectives? Methods? Key findings
How often, and in what manner, are females portrayed in the sports illustrated?
Mediated gender discourse, gender norms, sexualisation and trivialisation of female athletes
Methods?
Quantitative content analysis of Sports Illustrated
Key findings
Women only appeared on 4.9 percent of covers
Womens participation minimized by sharing covers with male conterparts, featuring anonymous women not related directly to sports participation, sexually objectifying female athletes, and promoting women in more socially acceptable gender-neutral or feminine sports
Contribution to sociological understanding?
A window into the gendered culture of sport
Gender discrimination in sport
The influence of the sports-media complex in shaping gender discourse and ideology (reproduce and resist)

10. Binge Drinking Aims an objectives? Methods? Key findings
Examine the relationship between participation in organized sport and alcohol use.
Methods?
Quantitative comparison of rates of binge drinking among current college athletes, former athletes, and college students who were never involved in sport.
Key findings
Organised sports participation is associated with binge drinking
This relationship holds across racial and gendered lines
The effects of exposure extend beyond time of involvement
Contribution to sociological understanding?
The potentially damaging role sport can play in socializing athletes into a drinking culture
Do we need to address the culture of binge drinking in sports?

11. The Insight of Quantitative Research
Quantitative research methods can provide a lot of sociological and ethical insight
Especially in terms of answering the ‘what, how much, to what extent’ questions, as well as understanding relationships, effects, broad social and cultural patterns, and changes in society.
These can often highlight salient areas for further qualitative research.