MethodologyThe purpose of this project is to highlight the increasing frequency of sports related injuries that can be avoided through the scrutiny of the sporting activities. The main point in the evaluation is to anticipate risky activities, which may lead to injury. Moreover, the recurrence of similar injuries is a common problem, prompting the need for parents and sports organizers to adequately take precautions in the event of injury. Thus, the project involves providing information to stakeholders and institutions about the importance of utilizing competent sports personnel coupled with health specialists that can professionally screen athletes and detect the probability of developing complicated sports injuries.
Based on the research questions posed, the project is being conducted as a qualitative evaluation (Patton, 1990). The use of qualitative research is crucial to the success of this particular project because it allows the researcher to determine underlying meanings behind the results. This is important, especially in this particular project, in order to obtain differing viewpoints regarding the same topic. This can allow the researcher the opportunity to address various viewpoints, as well as ensures that the information provided is representative of the group at large. This is important since the results of the study are expected to be generalized across the entire population. As a result, based on the results of this study, it may be possible for different sporting organizations to utilize these results in different ways. For instance, a hockey association may consider the results of high impact sports to be more beneficial to their association than the results of a low impact sport, such as track and field.
Procedures
The project will be conducted utilizing interviews. Interviews are useful, especially in qualitative analysis, because they allow for open-ended questions, which provides opportunities for the participants to offer their unique opinions regarding the topic at hand or the question being asked (Creswell, 2013). The interview will include demographic information regarding the child, such as the length of time engaged in sports, the sports played, number and frequency of injuries, and age of child when originally engaging in sports, as well as age at each injury.
The researcher will attend various sporting events in the local vicinity and use convenience sampling to obtain data results. Thus, parents/guardians with children, as well as coaches of teams, will be asked their experiences regarding injuries when the sporting activity takes place. For the purpose of this analysis, the researcher aims to obtain 20 parent/guardian responses and at least one coach response. This will allow different viewpoints to be compared, such as parents to stakeholder. This is important because it assists in showing the differences in ways that the injury is viewed. Moreover, through obtaining this information, it is shown that there are different viewpoints regarding the importance of participating in sports following injury, including how the sporting organization protects players from future injuries. Additional information, secondary information, will be obtained from scholarly sources. These will include searchers for “injuries in young athletes” and associated key terms in databases, such as ProQuest and EBSCOHost. The results of these studies will be used in the validation of the responses provided by parents/guardians and/or coaches. It is believed that this would be the best way to ensure the validity of the study and to ensure that the study focuses on the results in conjunction with the known data.
Therefore, the goal of the study is met by first interviewing parents of young children, then by interviewing coaches. Each interview will be recorded, with permission, using a voice recorder, so that the researcher can transpose the results for easier analysis. Following the transposition of raw data, the researcher will be able to analyze the results using comparative techniques so that the data is considered in a holistic, as well as an objective manner. This is important for ensuring study validity and reliability in the final results and conclusions of sporting injuries incidences and risks.
Analysis Plan
The study is based on qualitative data. It will be grouped into similar categories (Bryman & Burgess, 2002). Based on these categories, it will be possible to see whether or not there are outliers in the data. In other words, through having an idea of expected results, it will be possible to see what is different in terms of study results. The results will be compared and linked to existing literature. Therefore, this study includes primary and secondary data. The secondary data will be found from scholarly databases, which will be used in confirming or refuting the direct evidence presented by participants. This is especially important because it will allow the researcher to draw conclusions based on the research results in comparison to what is already known regarding sports-related injuries in young athletes. Moreover, the information provided by participants can be used as comparisons against established precautions by sporting associations against injuries.
The analysis will include comparison of participant results as a group and based on individual sports. Those participating in high impact sports are more likely to be injured, therefore, it is assumed that these participants may have different answers that could be considered outliers. As a result, answers may be perceived as out of the ordinary based on the sport played. The results will be compared to the literature known in order to determine if the results are agreed with or disagreed with.
Assumptions
It is assumed that the literature obtained from prior studies was completed in an ethical manner and accurately analyzed. It is assumed that the participants will provide honest and unbiased answers. It is assumed that participants (coaches or parents/guardians) have no grudge against a particular association when providing answers. It is assumed that though injuries may occur within a specific sport at higher rates than other sports that this does not indicate a problem within the organization itself. It is assumed that the researcher has no bias related to this topic, and if bias does exist, it has been controlled for during data analysis. It is assumed that the interview questions are coherent and easily answered by the participants.
Limitations
The study is limited in that it only considers young children. The study is limited in that the research instrument (interview) may not be valid or reliable in the final scheme of the research results. The study is limited due to the skill of the researcher in data analysis. The study is limited because it cannot be generalized to the entire sporting population at large. Rather, generalization can only occur in sporting associations with young athletes.
Delimitations
The study is constrained to young athletes. Therefore, this means that there are many viewpoints that are not considered, such as parents with children that did not begin playing sports until they were older. The study is constrained through the consideration of qualitative data only. This means that there are more results and implications that can be gained from analyzing other data types, such as quantitative, as well. The study is constrained due to its reliance on parental/guardian and coach results only. It does not consider the viewpoint of the children. This was decided because to involve children within a research study would require immense ethical approval.
- Bryman, A., & Burgess, B. (Eds.). (2002). Analyzing qualitative data. Routledge.
- Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage.
- Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Sage.
