Analysing and Presenting Research Data - Coursework Example

Number Analysing and presenting research data Introduction This paper entails an analysis of data from a real life sports industry consultancy project. The sport being studied in this case is the British University Championship and its economic impact on the city of Sheffield. SPSS program is used for the analysis. The findings are then presented in formal research report. Current literature and knowledge, particularly regarding the economic impact of the British University Championship on the city of Sheffield are used to support the research findings. Background Generally, major events and festivals in Britain have been found to generate a catalyst in the evaluation of events hosting (Gratton, Shibli, Coleman, & Ramchandani, 2006). These events are further known to have an economic and social impact on the regions in which they are hosted. In this regard, it has been considered highly important to assess the economic impact of sports events on the regions they are hosted (Sheffield Hallam University, 2013). The economic impact is used as a basis of deciding to promote such events or to discourage them. Nevertheless, the best way to do this is to conduct intensive research with a view of gathering adequate data. After analysis of such data, the results obtained would provide a basis of for a general picture about the economic impact of the sports to the area (Gratton, et al., 2000). In march 2008, a new event was set at different venues within Sheffield. The event was basically meant to generate a considerable income for city’s economy. About 5,000 competitor and spectators headed to the city (British University & Colleges Sport, 2015). Regarding the same event, the British university Championship was set to end up becoming the top yearly multi-sport event that could culminate a program of sport that is typically all year round (British University & Colleges Sport, 2015). This included a combination of individual championships and team finals. With the attraction of about five thousand competitors and 3,600 spectators, their spending during the championship events would have a significant economic impact on the city. Besides, a good proportion of all these competitors and spectators are from outside the city and its environs (British University & Colleges Sport, 2015). This further brings in outside income, which is further used to develop the city. The stable economy of the city is also a contributing factor to the impact that this championship has an impact on it economic development. The city’s economy is considered to be going through a significant economic revival. The good economy implies that residents are ready to support similar sports events its top ranking in terms of overall wealth (BBC News, 2005). Method The data for this study was gathered using surveys. In the surveys, questionnaires were used as the data collection instruments. Typically, questionnaires are useful in collecting quantitative data. This research instrument mainly consisted of questions and related prompts for collecting data and information about the British University Championship. The use of questionnaires was found to be cheaper and more convenient for this type of research as compared to other research instruments like interviews (Foddy, 1994). Descriptive statistics was used for the analysis. This technic promotes the quantitative description of the data or information obtained using the survey instrument. In this regard, they provide a meaningful summary of the information in a quantitative form for easy interpretation and discussion (Mann, 1995). Data Analysis The data collected was based on a questionnaire in which a number of variables were brought out. A total of 15 questions were used. Nevertheless, some questions had sub-questions. This brought the number of questions to a total of 32. The questions triggered the respondents to give both quantitative and non-quantifiable data. Although some qualitative data was converted to quantitative data, some of the responses could not be coded. The analysis using descriptive statistics however focuses on the numeric variables. The analysis was done as follows: Table 1: Descriptive Statistics N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation q4 634 3 3 3.00 .000 q6 630 1 6 1.80 1.330 q11 634 0 350 30.11 41.035 q12i 634 0 200 14.48 23.329 q12ii 631 0 50 1.44 3.933 q12iii 632 0 100 2.84 8.631 q12iv 630 0 300 2.00 14.348 q12v 633 0 120 4.39 11.989 q12vi 632 0 100 4.98 13.380 q13 584 0 400 37.10 51.040 q14 632 1 16 1.45 .946 q15 572 1 5 3.77 .769 q16 572 1 9 3.18 3.396 q17 574 1 2 1.08 .269 q18 570 1 2 1.94 .234 Valid N (listwise) 516 Table 2: Model Description Model Name MOD_1 Series or Sequence 1 Zscore: q4 2 Zscore: q6 3 Zscore: q11 4 Zscore: q12i 5 Zscore: q12ii 6 Zscore: q12iii 7 Zscore: q12iv 8 Zscore: q12v 9 Zscore: q12vi 10 Zscore: q13 11 Zscore: q14 12 Zscore: q15 13 Zscore: q16 14 Zscore: q17 15 Zscore: q18 Transformation None Non-Seasonal Differencing 0 Seasonal Differencing 0 Length of Seasonal Period No periodicity Standardization Applied Distribution Type Normal Location estimated Scale estimated Fractional Rank Estimation Method Bloms Rank Assigned to Ties Mean rank of tied values Applying the model specifications from MOD_1 Table 1 provides the descriptive statics in which the minimum, maximum, mean, and the standard deviation of each of the quantitative variable is tabulated (Mann, 1995). This tabulation make it easy for discussion of the results and the drawing of a meaningful conclusion. Table 2 describes the model by providing additional information to the variables such as their type, differencing, standardization, and estimation. Discussion From table 1 above, the maximum number of respondents seem to be 634. All participants responded to the question and they were all spectators. Almost all (630) respondents, who only answered the question regarding where they are staying after the championship, provided that they would be spending their night at their respective homes, implying that they were from around or within the city. Most of the respondents showed an almost uniform distribution of their income across various categories. For food and drinks, the maximum spending was £200 with an average of £14.48. The spending on entrainment, travel, shopping, and other expenditures like parking and fuel was £50, £100, £300, £120, and £100 respectively. Their respective averages were also very small contrasting the maximum possible expenditure under each category since some people spend nothing on some goods and services during the sports event (Ramchandani & Coleman, 2012). The implication in this case is that at least every individual made some contribution to the total economic impact of the British University Championship. Their expenditure was highly critical for the city’s economy. This aspect has been tackled by other researchers who consider the contribution of sports to the city’s economy critical (Gratton, et al., 2006). Nevertheless, most of the contributors are residents of the same region in which the sports events are held (Gratton, et al., 2006). In terms of accommodation, for those individuals who cannot afford to commute to their homes, they were found to spend up to £400 for accommodation. The average accommodation spending is however very low at about £37.10. This is cause by the fact that most of the respondents claimed to spend nothing on accommodation as they spend the night after the event at their homes. Nevertheless, some people would pay for accommodation in groups to minimize of cost of the accommodation services. Most of the participants seemed to be overwhelmed by the British University Championship events since more than half of them rated the event as good, very good, excellent. This group of individuals was thus likely to attend future similar events by the same university. In this case, their contribution to the economic growth of the city would further be promoted. In fact, most of them claimed to have been in the city specifically to take part or watch the British University Championship. Besides, it would even be possible for them to visit Sheffield during their holidays as majority of them were on holiday. In this case, their contributions were part of the many aspects of sports events that lead to many economic benefits. Sports generally have had a significant impact on the Economy of the United Kingdom. In the year 2010, sport’s contributed to 1.9% of the UK’s economy (Sport England, 2015). Conclusion The study data and information have confirmed the assertions of many researchers and studies that sports contribute significantly to economic development. The British University Championship in particular is seen to make a critical stride in impacting the economy of Sheffield. Hosting the event alone is very important since it contributes to the development of important and key infrastructures that are critical for economic growth of the city. Besides, the championship catalyses the visitation of people from outside Sheffield who in turn would later see investment opportunities within the city. Once these people invest, they create more employment opportunities to the local people (Sheffield Hallam University, 2013). The championship events also form a basis to increased employment, which is a key aspect in economic growth. Essentially, sports generate a lot of income in various ways. Some of these ways have been evidenced among the participants. The same aspects witnessed in the analysed data has been proven in previous studied and literatures as seen in the paper. Bibliography BBC News, 2005. Sheffield hotbed for investment: Sheffield city centre is booming - with the fastest rising office rents outside London, new research has revealed. [Online] Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/south_yorkshire/4314628.stm [Accessed 22 February 2015]. British University & Colleges Sport, 2015. British University Championships set to bring £2.3M to Sheffield Economy 24/07/2007: The economy of the city of Sheffield is set to benefit from £2.3million of income from the staging of the British University Championships, an independent report has reve. 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