PROBLEMS OF STATISTICS APPLICATION IN SPORTS SCIENCE

Abstract

Statistics as a scientific method has its application in a large number of scientific disciplines, including sports. The application of statistics in sports science is crucial for understanding and analyzing sports performance, as well as for making decisions regarding training, tactics, player recruitment, and other aspects of sports management. There are certain problems that may arise when applying statistical methods in the field of sports, which are directly dependent on: data quality, complexity of the sports, problems with non/adequate sample, lack of control over variables, issues of bias in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data and ethical questions. In order to overcome these problems, careful data collection, the use of appropriate statistical methods, transparency in the analysis and interpretation of results, as well as cooperation between sports experts and statisticians are crucial. Also, it is important to be aware of the limitations of statistical analyzes and interpretations in the context of specific sports disciplines and situations. However, as each scientific discipline strives to discover new/modern principles, wanting to contribute to the development of scientific knowledge, there are several research questions of empirical nature that many researchers ignore under the direct/indirect influence of factors such as possible research project funding, academic advancement or existential reasons. In this way, we consciously or unconsciously develop space for new research directions – agnotology, a multidisciplinary field that deals with the study of the production and maintenance of ignorance or misinformation. Hyperproduction, that is, the rapid increase in the number of published scientific papers leads to patterns that can be considered unwritten rules, so that in addition to the existence of ethics commissions at academic institutions and conditional compliance with the code of ethics, we have the practice that papers containing the statistical method are directly considered original scientific papers. This can have a wide range of consequences for the scientific community, researchers, but also for the quality of scientific research in general.Also, the question arises to what extent the data obtained by applying this method find their place in practice, i.e. whether to contribute to the development of science and scientific truth. The subject of this research is related to the application of statistics in the science of sports. The aim of the research is to determine the negative patterns of application of statistics in the science of sports in order to correct the scientific approach in future research. The results of the research confirmed the presence of negative patterns, that is, they indicate the appearance of giving priority to papers in which statistics were applied in relation to papers of a qualitative type, when the selection of papers for publication is made.