Introduction
The impact of sports activities is beyond the field. The current paper proposes an approach that can be used to develop a literature review about the socioeconomic impact of professional activities. The process of selecting a research problem is achieved by developing a conceptual framework as discussed in the paper.
Selecting a research problem
Research problems may be approached using either quantitative or qualitative methods. The quantitative research method gathers information that may be transformed into numbers (Levering, 2002) while the qualitative method gathers textual data. Qualitative research methods are applied to offer total, comprehensive explanation of a subject. The quantitative method concentrates more on quantifying and categorizing the characteristics of the research and creating statistical figures and models to interpret data (Miles & Huberman, 1994). Qualitative methods should be applied during the early stages of a research while quantitative methods may be applied at the later stages of the study. The researcher must consider several variables before deciding the ideal research method. Investigational methods must apply generalizations and the researcher must limit the generalizations, while remaining practical.
For the proposed research study, the researcher will combine the qualitative and quantitative research methods. The qualitative method will be used at the early stages of the research, during which the research questions and hypothesis, the conceptual framework, and the literature review will be developed.
Identification of the research questions and hypothesis
Every research begins with a question and it may be difficult for the researcher to compose the research question. The researcher must understand the background and perspective on the research subject before the correct research question can be developed. The common method of developing a research question is by qualitatively analyzing the background and scope of the research subject. The researcher may consider different approaches to select and analyze the research subject. First, the researcher must discuss the concepts of the subject with a professor to identify the relevance of the subject to the course or field of study. The relevance of the research topic can be ascertained by reviewing articles and journals that discuss similar ideas with the subject. The researcher may use Google or an Encyclopedia to gain more understanding of the research subject.
The researcher develops the ideal research question by reviewing the discussions and findings of previous research studies related to the topic being discussed. The conceptual framework is an important tool used to develop research questions and hypotheses because it exposes the research possibilities of research topic. A conceptual framework helps the researcher to develop a research question that is relevant to the theoretical and practical aspects of the selected research subject and this increase the academic and practical relevance of the research subject. In the hypotheses, the researcher predicts the results of the research (Andrew, Pedersen & McEvoy, 2011). The conceptual framework is important to the process of developing the hypothesis because it informs the researcher’s understanding of the subject, which makes it possible for the researcher to identify the potential outcomes of any topic related to the topic.
The proposed topic will investigate the influence of sports activities on the sociocultural aspects of society. The conceptual framework will help the researcher to identify research variables that represent sociocultural change and sports activities, and the researcher can develop the research questions to test the relationship between sociocultural trends and sports activities. The hypotheses will be developed by relating the research questions with the researcher’s practical consideration of the possible outcomes of the study.
Five Steps used to develop a conceptual framework for the Literature Review
The conceptual framework is an important ingredient used to develop an ideal research and the researcher must develop a conceptual framework that represents the research subject. The research study’s conceptual framework will be incorrect if the researcher fails to follow specific guidelines. To develop an ideal conceptual framework, the researcher must follow the necessary steps.
The first thing the researcher should to when developing the conceptual framework is to map the preferred sources of data, which means that the researcher will need to identify the range of diverse literature about the research subject (Andrew, Pedersen & McEvoy, 2011). The phase comprises the identification of historical and academic data and will start with a comprehensive analysis of the diverse texts, which requires that the researcher performs a survey that targets consultants, academicians, professionals, and students across different fields related to the selected topic. The researcher must ensure that the process of collecting data is extensive and comprehensive (Andrew, Pedersen & McEvoy, 2011), and must enable wholesome identification and comprehensive data collection to enable authenticity (Morse & Mitcham, 2002).
The second phase of developing a conceptual framework requires a comprehensive understanding and grouping of the chosen data, and this phase helps the researcher to identify the relevant datasets. The course of understanding and grouping the research data exploits the efficiency of the researcher’s review and enables efficient depiction of every field.
The third thing the researcher should do when developing a conceptual framework is to recognize and define the concepts. The objective of this step is to study and restudy the chosen information and determine the concepts (Bordens & Abbott, 2014). The result of this stage is an array of opposing and often contradictory ideas. This stage sieves the idea from the literature.
The fourth thing the researcher must do is to deconstruct and categorize the ideas. The objective of this stage is to breakdown each idea, identify its chief qualities, features, expectations, contribution, and, eventually, to arrange and group the ideas based on their characteristics and theoretical and organizational task (Andrew, Pedersen & McEvoy, 2011). The outcome of this stage is a chart comprising four fields, which include the idea’s name, an overview of the ideas, a categorization of every idea based on epistemology, methodology, or ontology, and the positions for every idea.
The final stage in the process of developing the conceptual framework for the first parts of a research involves the integration and categorizing of the ideas that possess comparable characteristics. This stage drastically decreases the number of ideas and provides the researcher with the liberty to control some of the ideas.
Proposed Dissertation
As earlier stated, the objective of the proposed research is to investigate the relationship between sports activities and socioeconomic variables. This paper suggests the approaches and stages required for the researcher to develop an effective conceptual framework. In applying the identified methods and strategies, the researcher will develop the conceptual framework by reviewing the concepts related to sports activities and socioeconomic change. The focus of the conceptual framework will be to develop potential dependent and independent variables. The independent variables are the variables that can be used to measure sports activities while the dependent variables are the variables that can be used to measure socioeconomic trends.
The conceptual framework for the proposed research will include literature that relates sports activities to numerous factors that affect socioeconomic performance. The variables selected to measure the socioeconomic features of the selected location may also have sub variables and this will affect the depth of the research. Some variables that are not directly perceived to represent socioeconomic conditions may be included.
Research Questions and Hypotheses
This paper presented a proposed method that may be used to develop the conceptual framework for research designed to investigate the relationship between sports activities and socioeconomic development. The steps required for developing an effective conceptual framework are presented. The conceptual framework guides the research questions and the hypothesis, which serve as guidelines for the research. The research questions will be developed by considering all the variables identified as socioeconomic factors, while the hypothesis will be developed to test the relationship between sports activities and the variables that the socioeconomic factors literature links with sports activities.
The following are examples of possible research questions:
- What is the influence of sports on social justification?
- Do sports activities encourage urban economic development?
- What is the advantage of using sports activities as part of a company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy?
- How do sports activities affect public consultation?
The following hypotheses may be developed:
- H1: A positive relationship exists between sports activities and socioeconomic growth.
- H0: No relationship exists between sports activities and socioeconomic growth.
References
Andrew, D. P., Pedersen, P. M., & McEvoy, C. D. (2011). Research methods and design in sport management. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Bordens, K. S., & Abbott, B. B. (2014). Research design and methods: A process approach. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Levering, B. (2002). Concept analysis as empirical method. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 1(1), 35–48.
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded source book. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Morse, J. M., & Mitcham, C. (2002). Exploring qualitatively derived concepts: Inductive deductive pitfalls. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 1(4), 28–35.