Overt Racism In Sports

In regard to observing the fans and workers I choose to be overt. I wanted to see how people react to an overt racism researcher. I introduced myself to the fans between the quarters of the game as a researcher who is interested in racism in sports, asked about willingness to participate in such a study. Later the participants were asked a few questions about racism. Participants were informed that data are confidential and were told about the risks encompass being a part of the study. The field notes contained both descriptive and reflective notes. In the descriptive notes the date, time, the surroundings, people dresses, announcements, warnings, people patterns of behavior, and way they look at others. In the reflective section, I had
some notes about how I felt about a certain situation and the ideas or thoughts a situation has triggered in me. Trustworthiness of observed data. Since validity and reliability of qualitative research are asked all the time, various strategies were adapted to ensure the credibility of the study and that it is ethically conducted. First, persistent observations.
I have spent one hour every week observing in the ice arena, attended 2 hockey games. That made me have the first hand evidence as I collected the whole data by myself. Second, Triangulation. In the proposed study two techniques were adapted, observations and interviews. Also, the collected data were compared to literature. The data from these different resources and techniques were compared to each other, to see if they all support the same findings. Third, frequent debriefing. Frequent debriefing session was conducted between the researcher and Dr Vikki. In that session some of the collected data and adapted methods were discussed. That helped to prevent any biases of the researcher and made the researcher aware of it if any are found. Also, this will give the researcher more perspectives on the proposed research (Andrew Shenton, 2004, p.67). Fourth, peer scrutiny of the research project. A Colleague who is a construction management master`s student was asked to read the analysis and the findings of the research and provide a feedback. That critique made me more opened and aware of any bias I have done. Also, it helped to change my way of thinking about the observations
Field
notes The field notes contained 4 subsections, Date, Observations, before, after and notes/ comments. In the date section the time, date and place of the observation were documented. The Observations section had an in depth and detailed information about the observations along with some pictures. These observations included the structure of the ice arena, rooms, people`s clothes, reactions during games, the staff reactions towards me, group vs individual behaviors, safety measures, ages of the ice arena attendants, staff attire, gender and temperature. In the before and after section the people reactions before and after knowing that I was a researcher were documented. The last section comments and notes included my personal thoughts or feelings about a certain situation and what it provoked.
Research log The research log contained information about place of research, date and objectives of the study Marinating a research log is very important to both the research and the researcher.
In regard to the research, maintaining a log adds to the trustworthiness of the study as it provides a written and date source of the observations. So anyone can go through the adapted methods or techniques and related observations. In regard to the researcher, the research log represents a reliable source for the researcher to recall data or information, enable the researcher to detect any biases that might develop over time, going over the research log helps the researcher to adapt new methodology or adjust it, advantages and disadvantages of the adapted methodology and it helps the researcher to find answers for unanswered questions. Also, the researcher can document any data or observations he miss later on. In terms of confidentiality, the research log has to be kept in a safe place where nobody can gain access to it other than the
researcher. Interviews. Since racism can show up in different forms and ways, it is hard to set a certain number of questions that address racism. Therefore, I adapted the unstructured interview strategy. I had some questions to use as an ice breaker. These questions were open ended questions that paved the road to the topic of racism. For example, when did you become a hockey fan? With whom do you usually watch hockey games? How would you define racism? Do not you think that white people face racial discrimination? How do you feel about having player from overseas play in national teams? Why do you think some ethnic groups are predominant in some sports? Other questions were developed on the spot based on the participant’s behavior before, after and during the game and responses. One of the most advantageous aspects of this interview technique, is that the interview is being guided and directed based on the participants reactions or responses, that gives the opportunity to gain more data and reactions than sticking to a certain type or set of questions. Interview guide.