Background
This research is aimed at examining the opinions of students regarding the role of the athletics department in the university. Much attention should be paid to the support that should be provided to learners who are engaged in various types of sports. Many of these individuals have to cope with financial difficulties, especially if they have to take loans in order to fund their education. Furthermore, it is believed that these people should be compensated for the revenues that they bring to colleges or universities. Therefore, many of these people believe the athletics department should offer more assistance to them. This is one of the issues that should be explored in the study. This analysis can be important for various stakeholders like students and administrators.
The main research question
The main research question can be formulated in the following way:
What kind of role should the athletics department play and how can it support students who are engaged in sports?
Research methods
This study will involve primarily action research. This approach is based on the assumption that the investigator should participate in a certain activity in order to understand various aspects of this problem (Anderson, 2004, p. 55). Additionally, it is necessary to examine a particular question by interacting with people who have to overcome a certain challenge or problem (Anderson, 2004, p. 55). This research will include a series of focus group discussions during which students will express their opinions about various issues such as the funding of athletic programs, scholarships available to learners, or tuition fees of athletes. These participants can look at the main research question from various perspectives, and their suggestions can be of great value. The research will include several steps, namely planning of the research activities, interaction with the participants, and reflection. The findings of the study can be considered by the administrators of the university.
It will be necessary to analyze the responses provided by the participants and identify the most common issues that affect them. This analysis can throw light on the main question of the study, namely the role of the athletics department in the university. In this way, one can better understand the way in which the athletics department can support students. The findings can be used for addressing the difficulties that learners face in the course of their education.
The study will be carried out in the university setting. Furthermore, this research will have the sample of 50 students who will express their opinions about the role of the athletics department. This sample will represent the total population of student athletes in the university.
Limitations
The main limitation of the study is that its findings cannot be generalized. They can be applicable only to one educational institution. Secondly, one should take into account that this study will rely mostly on the opinions of students, but it will not incorporate the views of other stakeholders such as college administrators. These are the main limitations of this project and they should not be overlooked.
Conclusion
On the whole, this study can have significant implications for many student athletes. The most important element of this research is that it will rely on the opinions of people who are directly affected by the work of the athletics department.
Reference List
Anderson, V. (2004). Research Methods in Human Resource Management. New York: CIPD Publishing.