Mary Jackson Pitts, Ph.D.
|
Mary Jackson Pitts, Ph.D.
|
|
You will find two different examples of writing the methods section of your paper. You will also find written limitations. The first method was written by Darcy Douglass (1999), and the second was written by Mike Bowman(1999). METHOD
A survey concerning opinions toward female sports journalists was
conducted during the fall of 1999. The
convenient sample was drawn from five undergraduate communication courses at
Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
Ninety-four students participated in the study.
The survey was distributed during class following a brief explanation of
the study. It was also explained to
the respondents that their answers would remain anonymous and their
participation was voluntary.
The survey consisted of 15 questions and three demographic determinants
(sex, race, and age of respondent). Respondents
were also given a space to make comments if they desired.
The questions dealt with female sports journalists in various manners
(See Appendix A). Question topics included the perceived knowledge of female
sports journalists, the treatment of female sports journalists, coverage of
women's sports, writing/reporting styles, locker room access, and gender
preference for sports coverage. The
respondents answered the questions based on a likert scale of responses ranging
from "Strongly Agree" to "Strongly Disagree."
Research question one (What opinions do males and females have concerning
the knowledge/ability of female sports journalists to do their job?) was
examined using two statements about the knowledge and ability of female sports
journalists and one statement about women in general. Those statements are, "Most female sports journalists
know less about sports than male sports journalists", "Women, in
general, know less about sports than males do", and "I expect more
errors from women sports journalists than male sports journalists."
Research question two (What views do males and females have concerning
the equal treatment of female sports journalists?) was examined using three
statements dealing with equal opportunity, criticism, and sexist language.
Those statements are, "There is equal opportunity in the workplace
for women sports journalists", "Female sports journalists face more
criticism than male sports journalists", and "It is o.k. that some
women face sexist language while working as a sports journalists."
Research question three (Do more females than males agree that if there
were more women in the field of sports journalism, the coverage of women's
sporting events would increase?) was analyzed using the statement, "If
there were more females in the field of sports journalism, the coverage of
women's sporting events would increase."
Research question four (How do males and females view the
writing/reporting styles of female sports journalists compared to male sports
journalists?) was examined using two statements: "The writing/reporting
styles of female sports journalists differ from that of the male sports
journalists" and "Female sports journalists report more about the
human aspect of sports (personality and emotion), whereas males report
specifically on the game statistics, scores, etc."
Research question five (What opinions do males and females have
concerning sports journalists having access to the locker room of the opposite
sex?) was analyzed using the
following statements: "Women sports reporters should have access to male
locker rooms to cover sporting events" and "Male sports reporters
should have access to female locker rooms to cover sporting events."
Research question six (What views do males and females have concerning
the gender preference of who reports their sports news?) was examined using the
following four statements: "I would rather receive my sports news from a
male than a female", "I would like to see more females covering
sporting events", "Females should not cover male sporting
events", and "Males should not cover female sporting events." LIMITATIONS
The sample that was used for this study may not represent the opinion of
the general public. The sample was
not randomly selected, but rather chosen for convenience. Also, the respondents were selected from communications
courses which may have an effect on the way they view the status of women in
sports journalism. Perhaps, those
without a communications background would hold a different opinion of women in
sports journalism. Example two METHODOLOGY
To answer the four research questions, 15
surveys were distributed to sports reporters in radio, 15 surveys to sports
reporters in television, and 15 surveys to sports reporters in broadcast
television. The survey question for
all three mediums was the same with the exception of Question One.
The first question asked print reporters, “How long have you worked in
print sports journalism?” for newspaper respondents.
On the radio survey, the first question asked respondents
“How long have you worked in radio Sports Reporting 16 journalism?” For
television reporters, the survey asked, “How long have you worked in
television reporting?”
Due to the fact
that some radio stations, television stations, and newspaper organizations have
multiple reporters covering sports, as many as five surveys were
distributed to some larger organizations.
Multiple survey responses came from different reporters in the same
sports reporting organization.
Surveys were distributed to television stations, radio stations, and
newspaper organizations in Arkansas, Tennessee, and Texas. Surveys were distributed to respondents by the United
States Postal Service, e-mail, or personally delivered.
Research Question I dealt with the use of the Internet as a source
of information in the performance of sports reporter’s job duties. One question required the respondent to rank use of the
Internet for sports information in the performance of job duties compared with
other sources of information. Another
question asked respondents if they used the Internet for entertainment,
education, or work-related purposes.
Research Question II dealt with the use of the Internet as a
source for story ideas. Respondents were asked to rank the Internet as a source
for story ideas compared to other story idea sources.
The survey also included Likert Scale statements that determined the use
of the Internet by sports reporters for story ideas.
Research Question III dealt with sports reporters actively
participating in Internet message boards created by sports fans.
Active participation is defined as reading posts Sports Reporting 17on message boards and/or originating messages or
responding to messages on sports fan created Internet message boards.
Research
Question IV dealt
with sports reporters actively participating in Internet chat rooms created by
sports fans. Active participation
is defined as reading posts in chat rooms and/or originating messages or
responding to chat in sports fan created Internet chat rooms.
Research Question V dealt with the comparison of use of the Internet by sports reporters in radio, television, and print. The question is intended to determine if one medium uses the Internet as a source of sports information more than another medium. The question is also intended to determine if one medium more than another medium uses sports fan message boards or sports fan chat rooms as a source of story ideas.Limitations
The findings in this study were limited by several factors.
First, only 16 of the 45 surveys distributed were returned.
Print media returned 10 surveys, radio reporters returned four surveys,
and television reporters returned two surveys.
The majority of surveys distributed to print reporters were done
personally. This could explain the
larger number of responses compare to other media.
While some surveys were distributed to television and radio reporters
personally, other surveys were mailed through the United
States Postal Service. More
responses are needed to measure Internet use by sports reporters in the
traditional media.
It is unclear if the survey respondent understood the definitions of
message boards and chat rooms. People
often hear terms associated with the Internet but do not clearly Sports
Reporting 18 understand the definitions.
It is possible that the survey participants based their responses out of
ignorance of terms related to message boards and chat rooms.
One television survey respondent included a message that said that
message boards and chat rooms only included recycled wire copy. There appears to be a mistrust of Internet websites, especially those sites that rely on fan input as the primary content source. It is possible that sports reporters from traditional media outlets will not admit using fan
website as a source of information or story ideas.
Another drawback is that there are limited studies that reference sports
reporting. Most of the literature
refers to news reporting and journalism. Therefore,
the same journalistic standards applied to news reporting were applied to sports
reporting for the purpose of this study.
Finally, the sudden and rapid growth of the Internet in the sports
information arena creates an interesting yet confusing opportunity for research.
Websites constructed and maintained by fans are relatively new sources of
sports information. Privately, some
|