ABSTRACT
Most sport organizations use some form of data collection as a normal business practice, and managers frequently make decisions based on the resulting data. When making any business decision, a manager should give careful consideration to the evaluation of statistics and the tests that indicate whether significant differences or relationships are present in the data.
To help connect the various statistical measurements and tests to their practical applications in the sport industry, we will use three hypothetical scenarios that present real-world problems or questions. For Research Scenario I, we provide the statistical calculations, analysis, and interpretation. Research Scenarios II and III are in the form of practice problems for which you will first apply the statistical tests and then provide the analysis and interpretation. This chapter introduces these scenarios, as well as the software that will be used in analyzing the data from these scenarios. Additional examples are provided in each subsequent chapter to help explain statistical terms and analyses.
