An Analysis of Literature on Sport Officiating Research

Abstract

Sport officials are crucial members of sport. Researchers have studied their roles numerous times, with results often informing sport procedures (e.g., athlete order in artistic sports). As the research on sport officiating spans five decades and several topics of interest, it is important that researchers periodically synthesize the literature. Purpose: The purpose of this study, therefore, was to conduct an analysis of literature on sport officiating research. Method: Guided by previous researchers, we executed four methodological steps including the article search, article retrieval, sample validity, and article coding. These steps yielded 386 articles for analysis, which ranged from 1971 to 2018. We coded the articles based on four main categories: article information, participant demographics, contextual information, and methodology. Results: Key findings from this analysis include a recent influx in sport officiating research, a vast number of publication journals, few studies dedicated to female-only participants, many studies missing relevant demographic information, an over-representation of interactors, and a reliance on quantitative studies. Conclusions: Though many researchers have conducted studies on sport officiating, several articles had poor methodological rigor (e.g., not reporting key demographic information). In the discussion and conclusion sections, we highlight strengths and weaknesses within the field and provide recommendations to guide future researchers and practitioners, to ensure robust research designs and guide applied practice.

Keywords: Judges; knowledge synthesis; referees; umpires.