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Book Information: Research Methods in Sport Management Reviewed by Doris Lu and Darlene A. Kluka |
Ming Li, Brenda Pitts, and Jerome Quarterman. Research Methods in Sport Management Published in 2008 by Fitness Information Technology in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. ISPN: 9781885693853 (360 pp) Price: $69.00 USD Sport management studies routinely cover cross-disciplines and have long been gaining research methods knowledge through general sport movement sciences and sport studies. However, while more sport management studies involve non-kinesiology types of study, researchers identified a need for a sport management oriented research methods textbook. Therefore, this first sport management research methods textbook certainly serves the need of the market. The three authors are internationally recognised researchers in the field of sport management, each of whom have been publishing related studies in referred journals and books for more than twenty-five years. In addition, they have directed numerous theses and dissertations and been journal editors for many years. The first author, Dr. Ming Lee, is the current chair of North America Society of Sport Management (NASSM); the second author, Dr. Brenda Pitts is the recipient of 2002 Ziegler Award in NASSM; the third author, Dr. Jerome Quarterman also has published numerous articles and textbooks in the fields of kinesiology and sport management. Their profound knowledge and research skills set a strong foundation for this book. The sequence of the chapters is carefully organised. From introduction to sport management research, qualitative research, to quantitative research and presenting research results, to wrap up the book. It also covers the most widely used research methods in sport management, such as the questionnaire for case study, interviews, focus groups, observation and experiment. Particularly, it offers a specific chapter on attitude measurement, a measurement scale that has been extensively used in academic and market research. One of the best features of this textbook is that the examples and cases are up-to-date and appropriately utilised to illustrate different research methods. Considering various cultural and sport settings, although some informative research resources are still US oriented, the authors carefully avoid this barrier to allow scholars, students, and market researchers outside of North America to comfortably identify with the content and apply it to their situation. The authors offer clear definition for each method and provide suitable studies to demonstrate the concepts. Also, after each method is introduced, advantages and disadvantages of that particular method are discussed. Another feature of this book is that the authors offer tables, figures and hands-on examples to display the theory. It is a very good element for novice researchers to understand research methods and it is helpful for instructors to teach. For example, Table 3-1 shows the philosophical differences between the quantitative and qualitative research mode of inquiry; page 179 provides several studies to exemplify inter-rater reliability and Chapter 17 has several very appropriate figures and tables to explain the statistical data analysis. The quantitative research method is discussed extensively throughout the nine chapters covering the topic. Qualitative research is discussed in four chapters which cover the most popular methods. For an unknown reason, only case study, interview, focus group and observation are considered. Specifically, the popular sponsorship evaluation which is analysed by content analysis is briefly discussed; document analysis, which is used widely in academia and industry, is lacking; an explanation of how to analyse the qualitative data is in short, as is any mention of the possible software to assist with analysing massive raw data. Although these brief contents are not parts of the notion of this introduction level textbook, the authors might wish to include these ideas in a follow-up textbook. In summary, we would recommend this book to sport management students who are taking an introductory research methods course, industry professionals who are conducting market research and instructors who are teaching research methods in sport management. Moreover, we would recommend this textbook to all sport business management scholars, students and practitioners. Contact Dr. Doris Lu and Dr. Darlene A. Kluka School of Human Performance and Leisure Science Barry University Miami, Florida, USA Email: DKluka@mail.barry.edu icsspe.org/index.php?m=15 Book Information: Research Methods in Sport Management Reviewed by Doris Lu and Darlene A. Kluka