A Research Agenda For Sport Management

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. Challenging the existing perspectives and models upon which sport management has been founded, this Research Agenda compiles cutting-edge research from expert contributors to offer a new definition of sport management. Examining the evolution of sport management as an academic discipline, this Research Agenda challenges the concepts, theories and standards for what should constitute legitimate future contributions to the field. Focussing on key strategic paradigms in sport governance and leadership, it tracks current management and research trends, and discusses the emergence, application, and relevance of emotion-related research into sport management. Examining sport organisations and professional sport at both international and national level, it identifies sport as both a high-profile social institution and an important leisure pursuit that exists within an increasingly business-like framework. Directing further research into community sport organisations, high performance sport systems and volunteer contributions to sport delivery, this Research Agenda will be an invigorating read for students and scholars of sport management studies. Its insights into governance, leadership and strategy in sport management will prove invaluable to practitioners working in the field.

Course Design and Assessment offers design strategies, educator-in-action perspectives, and real-world suggestions for engaged educators, creating inclusive and meaningful learning opportunities and developmental student growth. With a brief history situating engaged learning among educational models, the book shows the vital and practical connections between an educator’s overall learning philosophy and their pedagogical choices. The authors unpack the definitions and practices common to engaged learning, exploring the assumptions educators make about students, teaching, learning, and instructional contexts that underlie engaged educators’ pedagogical decisions. Ultimately a vehicle for inclusive learning and transparent design, the book outlines pre-course planning steps, suggestions for adjusting the course mid-stream, and a thorough discussion of assessment activities with planning and implementation steps.

This book explores and expands upon the core topics in the current academic debate within event management research. Emerging areas and innovative methodologies are organised into three themes: Events in Society, Event Consumers, and the Event Organization.

Good qualitative research can help sport management researchers and industry professionals solve difficult problems and better understand their organisations, stakeholders and performance. Now in a fully revised and extended new edition, this book is a user-friendly introduction to qualitative methods in sport management. Covering the full research process from research planning to reporting results, this edition includes expanded coverage of cutting-edge areas including digital and social media research, critical realism, and social network analysis. The book examines the reflective and interrogative processes required for developing effective qualitative research questions and includes a deeper discussion of ontology and epistemology in the light of today’s rapidly changing society. It takes the reader step-by-step through essential and emerging qualitative methods, from actor network theory and ethnography to computer-assisted data analysis and sampling typologies. Every chapter includes examples of real qualitative research, including shorter "research briefs" and extended case studies, reflecting the exciting qualitative research that is currently occurring in sport business and management, and highlighting the links between research and sport management practice. This is essential reading for courses in sport management, sport business, sport policy, sport marketing, sport media, and communications. It provides students, researchers, and practitioners with the knowledge and skills to undertake qualitative research while deepening their understanding of how the social world can be perceived and interpreted through a particular theoretical lens. Useful online materials include recommended readings and PowerPoint slides.

Research methods courses have become a compulsory component of most degree programs in sport management. This is the first introductory research methods textbook to focus exclusively on sport management. Through the use of examples, cases and data taken from the real world of sport management it opens up a traditionally dry area of study, helping the student to understand the vital importance of sound methodology in their studies and subsequent professional practice. The book covers the full range of quantitative and qualitative methods across the whole span of the research process, from research design and the literature review to data analysis and report writing. Every chapter contains a range of useful features to aid student learning, including summaries, discussion questions and guides to further resources, as well as examples drawn from contemporary sport around the world. Research Methods for Sport Management is an essential course text for all sport management students and an invaluable reference for any sport management professional involved in operational research.

Exploring the social, economic and environmental impacts of events on people, places and communities, this timely Research Agenda highlights the links between theory and practice in event impacts research. Top scholars critically assess events, looking at who benefits from hosting them, and focusing on issues surrounding sustainability, the need to define legacies, and the need to extend regeneration efforts to secure economic and socially sustainable futures.

Research can be a challenging but rewarding activity. All degree-level students studying sport, and all effective professionals working in the sport sector need to have a sound understanding of research methods and how to critically interpret research findings. This broad-ranging, in-depth and practical textbook introduces research methods for students on sport-related degree courses, outlining the knowledge and practical skills needed to undertake meaningful research and to become a knowledgeable consumer of the research of others. The book explores every element of the research process, from the fundamental ‘what, why and who?’ questions, through research plans, literature review, qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and data analysis, to the communication of research results. It offers a critical appraisal of alternative methods, including mixed methods, as well as clear guidance on how to use each particular method. Every chapter contains test questions and practical exercises, detailed case studies, a clear chapter summary and extensive guides to further sport-related study resources, to enable students to check their understanding and develop, extend and apply their practical skills. Step-by-step introductions to the use of the key statistical packages Excel, SPSS and NVivo in sport research are included. On-line support materials include some 400 PowerPoint slides and copies of data-sets used in the book. With deeper and broader coverage than any other sport-related research methods textbook, and a clear focus on ‘how to do it’, Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management is an essential companion for any sport-related degree course.

Illuminating the global food system as a highly dynamic set of interconnecting interests that continues to drive rapid technological, societal, and cultural change, this cutting-edge Research Agenda examines the pressing issues that confront current food systems, and the emerging responses to them. This title contains one or more Open Access chapters.