ABSTRACT
S ometimes investigators need to plan a study in such a way that they can have full control over the procedure. That is, to test an explicit prediction, the investigator must control conditions and introduce variables at will in order to arrive at a conclusion. The method that enables investigators to exert the most control is experimental in nature. Many variations of experimental methods are appropriate for use in sport management inquiry. In each variation, a treatment is introduced under the total control of the investigator, and that treatment is evaluated to determine its effect on the out-
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Experimental design involves testing participants under strin-
gently controlled conditions in order to judge the effects of changes in a variable. In
experimental research, investigators make predictions (generate a hypothesis) about
how participants might react to the introduction of a variable, determine a procedure
to test the predictions, conduct the experiment, and determine whether the variable
affected the outcome.
