Analysis of Various Factors That Impact Attitudes Toward Esports

RESEARCH PROJECT

Your group is a research firm specializing in the assessment and evaluation of sport and recreational goods, services, and organizations. As part of this assignment, you will be required to conduct a full-scale research project on a topic of your choice. The purpose of this project is to assess a topic that either contributes to, or fills a gap in, the current body of knowledge, or addresses a pertinent operational issue in the field. Your firm is responsible for providing an introduction to the topic and its relevance to the field, a conceptual overview of the existing literature that frames your work, a novel assessment of the topic with accompanying interpretations, and a conclusion that is driven by your findings and connected to implications for practice. The deliverable for this project is a comprehensive written report (10-12 pages not including reference list or graphs/figures, double-spaced, 1” margins).

Topic Selection

Groups will select a research topic that pertains to sport, recreation, or a related field. This topic must be approved by the instructor, and should address a pertinent industry issue.

Written Report

After selecting a topic, groups will prepare a written report that covers the following:

1. Executive Summary

The executive summary provides a brief outline of the written report. What is the purpose of the study? How does it contribute to the current knowledge? What methods and analysis were used? What were the key findings? Why is it useful to the field?

Although brief, this portion of the report must engage the reader and make them want to continue reading. Make it concise, but make it impactful!

Estimated Length: 1 page.

1. Introduction

The introduction will provide a background of the topic and why it is relevant to the field. Save the detailed information for the conceptual overview, where you can get more into how it has been studied/conceptualized. For the introduction, focus on making the reader understand why this topic is important, and the purpose of your particular study.

An excellent introduction will convince the reader that this topic is important and relevant to the field, and highlight the potential significance of the study. The introduction should end with the purpose statement and research questions.

Estimated Length: 1-2 pages

1. Conceptual Overview

This section will provide an in-depth discussion of how the topic has been previously conceptualized and studied, and set the stage for the current project. Groups should provide a detailed outline of the different theories and models used to frame research on the topic, common methods of analysis, and key findings. This information should be organized in a clear manner that not only summarizes the existing literature, but helps further explain why the research is important.

There are a variety of approaches to writing an effective literature review. Groups should ensure their approach is organized around a key line of logic that contributes to their overall “story.” This section is not a regurgitation of previous work, but instead offers a synthesized review that conceptually frames the topic.

Estimated Length: 2-3 pages

1. Methods

This section will explain the methods of analysis. Groups should select a quantitative or qualitative method, and provide a rationale as to why it was appropriate for the research questions. If a group chooses a quantitative method, data can come from either primary (e.g., your group collects the data) or secondary (e.g., your group uses data that has already been collected) sources. It is strongly preferred that groups utilize primary or secondary data, but if neither option is available the instructor will provide a “hypothetical” dataset. In this instance, groups will still be responsible for detailing how the data would have been collected. If a group chooses a qualitative method, they must collect primary data.

A strong methods section will include information on the sampling strategy, data collection procedures, credibility and reliability, and analysis procedures. This should leave the reader with no doubts as to how the research was carried out.

Estimated Length: 1-2 pages

1. Results

This is the portion of the paper where your group reports the results of your analysis. There should be very little interpretation of the results at this stage besides reporting the significance of different tests. This is a good section to include tables and graphs that are referenced in your writing. As you report results, remember to include conventional in-text notations.

Estimated Length: 2-3 pages.

1. Discussion and Conclusion

In this section, provide a thorough interpretation of your results and connect them to the pertinent literature you highlighted in the conceptual overview. How do your results compare to previous work? How do they inform practice?

This section should end with a conclusion that restates the purpose the project, highlights the key findings, and relates it to practice. This is essentially the ending to your “story,” so really try and tie everything together!

Estimated Length: 2-3 pages.

Deadline to Submit Written Report: Monday, May 4^th, 2020 @ 8:00am.

Note: You must use APA 6^th Edition formatting for all citations. All information obtained from outside sources must be cited.