Qualitative Methods - Research Paper Example

International Journal of Sports Psychology International Journal of Sports Psychology Introduction Sport is one of the major activities that people engage in irrespective of age, gender, race or culture. Its importance has been seen ranging from keeping fit, to earning a living. A number of sporting activities exists among them being football, netball, volleyball, basketball, hockey among others. Sporting performance is however affected by a number of factors that require a psychological study.

Sports psychology refers to the study of how the various psychological factors affect the individual performance and participation in sporting activities. It also looks at how exercise done affects the physical and psychology of an individual. This paper will identify a qualitative methodology article in sport and identify the kind of research conducted. It will also bring out the data collection methods used, how it was analyzed, its merits and demerit and the proposed improvements to be made.

Qualitative research methodologies have been used to assess how psychology affects the sport participants. This was observed by Bloom, Bush and Samela during the study of the teaching behavior of coaches in a basketball match. He observed that the coaches are affected by psychological factors that make them react or give certain instructions to their team (Davies, Bloom & Salmela, 2005).Data collectionThey used qualitative approaches to conduct their study on the behavior of coaches. The qualitative methods used were observation and interviews.

Through observation they were able to get an insight on the behavior of coaches (Davies, Bloom & Salmela, 2005).. Interviews were conducted so as to obtain first hand responses from the coaches. This was done with the aim of getting thorough understanding of their behaviors.Data AnalysisSince the data they collected were qualitative in nature, analysis was done using constant comparative analysis approach. In this analysis, they made comparison of responses received from interviews conducted to various coaches for them to understand the relationship between the responses received.

Where differences are discovered, other methods like direct observations made were used to arrive at the conclusion (Miles & Huberman, 1999).Persistent link to the articleThe sports psychologist article on the teaching behavior of basket coaches has mostly been linked to what makes some coaches perform well or poorly in a competition. Pros and cons of the research design in the study Qualitative research has advantages that make it appropriate to be used in psychological study. It has an advantage in that it is more detailed.

The interviewee is able to get a good picture of why people behave the way they do. It also avoids making a pre-judgment on individual’s behavior. It is, however, disadvantageous in that it is not easy to make comparison between and is depended on the skills of the researcher (Miles & Huberman, 1999).Ways of improving the Research.The qualitative research conducted could have been improved by ensuring that a large number of coaches are interviewed. Questioners could also have been used to get responses not only from the coaches but also from the players.

In conclusion, qualitative methods are the best to use in conducting a research psychological nature as it gives a good insight and understanding of the behavior of people. It also minimizes incidences of making pre-judgments on individuals.ReferencesDavies M J, Bloom, G.A., & Salmela, J.H. (2005). Job Satisfaction of accomplished Male University Basketball Coaches: International Journal of Sports Psychology. Canadian Vol. 36, 173-192. http://sportpsych.mcgill.ca/pdf/publications/Job_Satisfaction_2005.

pdf International Society of Sports Psychology. (2005) International Journal of Sport Psychology: Official journal of the International Society of Sports Psychology, Volume 36. Pozzi.Miles M B. & Huberman AM. (1999). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. London: Sage Publication.