Research Trends in Participation Sports Using Content Analysis and Semantic Network Analysis

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze research trends related to service quality and customer satisfaction within the participation sports sector.<br/> Method: In this study, frequency analysis and cross-analysis were performed using SPSS version 29.0 to examine 116 domestic journal articles on sports. Additionally, a content analysis was conducted to investigate the distribution of articles by year of publication, journal, author demographics, sports disciplines, statistical methods, sampling techniques, and sample sizes. Text frequency analysis, semantic network analysis, and word cloud visualization were conducted using Python programming. <br/> Results: The results of this study are as follows. First, the distribution of published articles across various journals indicated a predominant presence in the Korean Society of Sports Science, followed by the Korean Society of Sport for All and the Korean Journal of Physical Education. On average, five articles were published annually over the past two decades, with a peak of 14 articles in 2011 and a decline to one article each in 2013 and 2018. The most common authorship type was dual co-authorship. Structural equation modeling emerged as the primary statistical method, and convenience sampling was the most frequently used. The sample size typically ranged from 200 to 299 participants, with golf identified as the most extensively researched sport. Second, among 115 core keywords, ‘intention’ appeared most frequently, with 112 occurrences. In the centrality analysis, the terms exhibiting high closeness and degree centrality included ‘usage’, ‘target’, ‘facilities’, ‘provision’, and ‘intention’. Meanwhile, the terms with high betweenness centrality were ‘usage’, ‘target’, ‘intention’, ‘facilities’, and ‘golf’.<br/> Conclusion: These findings suggest that future studies should broaden their scope to investigate consumer behavior across a more diverse range of sports and incorporate interdisciplinary approaches. This expansion could significantly enhance the qualitative growth and development of the participation sports sector.