Module

Research Toolkit

Description - summary of the module content

Module description

This module aims to provide you with a bespoke research ‘toolkit’ that will equip you with the necessary skills and knowledge to carryout postgraduate level research within Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences or Sports Management. It is designed to help you navigate the research journey, beginning with the conception of a research problem and ending with disseminating your work via a conference presentation and academic journal. The module will provide an excellent foundation for those wishing to undertake further research (e.g. research assistant, PhD) in Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences and / or Sports Management to the completion of a research project, dissertation or thesis.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The module will develop your ability to undertake a literature review, develop a research question and decide which methods and approaches are needed. The practicalities of designing and managing a research project, including ethical considerations and the collection and storing of data, will be covered. The requirements and processes involved in disseminating your project’s findings through a conference presentation and written journal article will be addressed. The current landscape for funding research projects in the UK and how to write a competitive research grant proposal will be examined. Finally, the module will end with a focus on how to build a career in research aligned to Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences or Sports Management.

Graduate attributes: As part of this module you are expected to develop the following skills:

• Ability to navigate the research landscape in sport, exercise and health sciences and the sports management field
• Identifying research priorities and defining a research question
• Undertaking and interpreting systematic reviews
• Designing research and managing a research project
• Have an overview of research philosophy and associated research methodologies
• Writing scientific or social sciences work for publication and critically reviewing content
• Presenting academic content for industry or scientific audiences
• Writing a research grant
• Identifying a research or industry career pathway

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Justify and formulate a research question with clearly defined aims
• 2. Identify appropriate research designs and methods
• 3. Plan and write a coherent research grant proposal in accord with defined guidelines

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Plan and deliver an oral presentation related to a scientific project or social sciences within Sport and Health Sciences
• 5. Critically evaluate scientific and social sciences work and provide appropriate feedback
• 6. Describe project and data management procedures including ethical procedures and approval

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Communicate complex information in either written or verbal form
• 8. Identify, retrieve and synthesise complex evidence
• 9. Develop an action plan and needs analysis for building a career in research

Syllabus plan

Syllabus plan

• Introduction to research in sport, exercise and health sciences including sports management
• Using and managing literature to develop a research question
• Synthesising the evidence base: systematic review
• Recognise research philosophy and different research methodologies associated with scientific research and the social sciences
• How to design research (e.g. establishing rationale, research aim, objectives (and/or a hypothesis) through to selecting a case / sample / methods etc)
• Ethical considerations, protocol, and the approval process
• Issues related to project and data management
• Presenting your work at academic and industry conferences
• Getting your work published and navigating the peer review process
• How to fund your research and write a research grant proposal
• Building a career in research or industry
• What do you need to know? Lessons learnt from current PhD students / academic and industry researchers

Learning and teaching

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Assessment

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Re-assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 50%) you will be required to retake the assessments you have failed. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 50%.

Resources

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Neil, R., Hanton, S., Fleming, S. and Wilson, K. (2014). The research process in sport, exercise and health case studies of active researchers. Abingdon: Routledge
• Jones, I. (2015). Research Methods for Sports Studies. Abingdon: Routledge
• Gratton, C. and Jones, I. (2014) Research methods for sports studies. Abingdon: Routledge.
• Veal, A.J. and Darcy, S., (2014). Research methods in sport studies and sport management: A practical guide. London: Routledge.
• Shilbury, D. ed., (2022). A research agenda for sport management. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing
• Skinner, J., A. Edwards and B. Corbett. (2015). Research methods for sport management. Abingdon: Routledge
• Thomas, J. R., Nelson, J. K. and Silverman, S.J. (2011). Research methods in physical activity. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• Exeter Learning Environment (ELE): http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/
• Postgraduate Researchers’ Programme: http://as.exeter.ac.uk/rdp/postgraduateresearchers/
• University of Exeter Research Toolkit: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/research/toolkit/
• British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences grants: https://www.bases.org.uk/spage-awards___grants-grants.html
• International Olympic Committee Research Grant Programmes: https://olympics.com/ioc/olympic-studies-centre/research-grant-programmes

Module has an active ELE page

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

• International Review for the Sociology of Sport 
• Journal of Sport Management 
• Journal of Sport and Health Science
• Journal of Sport and Social Issues
• Journal of Teaching Physical Education
• Leisure Studies 
• Managing Leisure 
• Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal
• International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing
• Sport, Education and Society 
• Soccer and Society 
• Sociology of Sport Journal 

Key words search

Research design, research philosophy, ethics, project management, research funding