20.500.12556/RUL-179884 I have a research idea, now what? a practical guide to research method selection in sport management Research in sport management often defaults to cross‐sectional surveys analyzed with regression or structural equation modeling, even when questions and data environments call for temporal, experimental, ethnographic, or integrated designs. This paper addresses that misalignment by advancing method–question fit as the organizing principle for design in sport. We (a) synthesize how quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods are actually used in sport and where each is strongest; (b) present a five‐step, sport‐specific decision framework (align question–theory, audit data/access, balance epistemology and feasibility, plan ethics by design, and integrate methods for innovation); and (c) consolidate guardrails for quality (psychometrics, model fit and invariance, qualitative trustworthiness, and mixed‐methods integration). Theoretically, we articulate a sport‐specific evidentiary logic, an integration blueprint joining variance and process explanations, and a reliability/transportability charter suited to proprietary data contexts. We conclude with practical implications for organizations and training, and a future research agenda emphasizing longitudinal, experimental, ethnographic, and mixed‐methods programs. sports management decision making research methods decision framework športni management odločanje raziskovalne metode true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Na spletni strani založnika navedeno, da članki izhajajo pod licenco CC BY-NC 4.0. Članek v reviji 2026-02-26 09:51:29 2026-02-26 09:55:10 2026-02-27 04:32:11 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2025 0 0 Str. 81-93 no. 2 Vol. 14 Nov. 2025 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 005.3:796 2232-5867 10.17708/DRMJ.2025.v14n02a06 257112323 https://sam-d.si/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/DRMJ-vol14-no02-2025-Clanek-6-1.pdf 1 060bb0e5-12f0-11f1-a1ba-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=228785 DRMJ-vol14-no02-2025-Clanek-6-1.pdf DRMJ-vol14-no02-2025-Clanek-6-1.pdf 1 50A82DDF69D71A478706D17DBACD03A8 2801e811b5241687285b59dd3528b228f7bbe6c673bb191d4ebd924f6026f66d 53a0bfc7-12f0-11f1-a1ba-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=228787 Ekonomska fakulteta 0 0 0