Visual Research Methods (VRMs): An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Extrinsic Motivation and Marathon Running

The purpose of this exploratory undergraduate research study was to use VRMs to examine the extent of direct interaction between fans and runner’s compared to signage affects intrinsic motivation with the objective of generating research questions to further investigate the phenomena using semi-structured interviews of participants or to generate hypothesis for testing in experimental conditions. VRMs have been used to examine phenomena in injury (Curry & Strauss, 1994), Psychology (Reavey, 2012) and recommended for use in studies of physical culture and sport (Phoenix, 2012). Following a 10 hour training phase in VRMs, a 3.5 hour photography data collection with systematic consistence of every 5 minutes for 5 minutes (N=(709) (n= 6)), and contemporaneous notes were completed. Images were sorted using inclusion/exclusion criteria based on the technical qualities of the image captured into “Keepers”, “Maybes” and “Leavers”. Technical meta data was organized for thematic analysis (Marion & Crowder, 2013). Analysis was conducted through the use peer-investigator photo elicitation interviews and facilitated peer-investigator focus group feedback. Validity was checked through the use of triangulation approaches (investigator and methodological). The results of this analysis yielded the following research questions: Do runners have more support if they have people they know placed throughout the race? To what extent does signage really affect the runner’s internal motivation? Does signage or direct interaction n between runners and fans increase the runner’s internal motivation more? How long does the burst of motivation typically last? and the proposed research hypothesis “Direct interaction between fans and marathon runners within a race enhances internal motivation as opposed to signage.” Existing research leading to the development of future studies in this area has been conducted by Jeffery, (2012), Masters (1995) and (Samson, (2014). The limits of this approach to research generation include but are not limited to: being a novice researcher, not knowing the profiles of the runners, limited data gathering like surveys and interviews for validity testing due to no direct interaction with the runners or fans. References Curry, T. J., & Strauss, R. H. (1994). A Little Pain Never Hurt Anybody: A Photo-Essay on the Normalization of Sport Injuries. Sociology of Sport Journal , 11 (2), 195-208 Jeffery, K. A., & Butryn, T. M. (2012). The Motivations of Runners in a Cause-Based Marathon-Training Program. Journal of Sport Behavior, 35 (3), 20, 300 Marion, J. S., & Crowder, J. W. (2013). Visual research: A concise introduction to thinking visually . New York: NY. Bloomsbury Publishing, Plc. Masters, K. S., & Ogles, B. M. (1995). An investigation of the different motivations of marathon runners with varying degrees of. Journal of Sport Behavior, 18 (1), 11, 69 Phoenix, C. (2010). Seeing the world of physical culture: the potential of visual methods for qualitative research in sport and exercise . Qualitative research in sport and exercise , 2 (2), 93-108. Reavey, P. (Ed.). (2012). Visual methods in psychology: Using and interpreting images in qualitative research . New York: NY. Routledge. Samson, A. (2014). Sources of Self-Efficacy during Marathon Training: A Qualitative, Longitudinal Investigation. The Sport Psychologist, 28 (2), 164-175.