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EXPLANATORY NOTES


INTRODUCTION

1 The statistics in this publication were compiled from data collected in the Involvement in Organised Sport and Physical Activity Survey conducted throughout Australia in April 2007 as part of the Monthly Population Survey (MPS).

2 The publication Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0) contains information about survey design, sample redesign, scope, coverage and population benchmarks relevant to the monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS), which also apply to supplementary surveys. It also contains definitions of demographic and labour force characteristics, and information about interviewing which are relevant to both the monthly LFS and supplementary surveys.

SCOPE

3 The scope of the survey included all persons aged 15 years and over who were usual residents of private dwellings except:

• members of the Australian permanent defence forces
• certain diplomatic personnel of overseas governments, customarily excluded from censuses and surveys
• overseas residents in Australia
• members of non-Australian defence forces (and their dependants) stationed in Australia.

COVERAGE

5 The estimates in this publication relate to persons covered by the survey in April 2007. In the LFS, coverage rules are applied which aim to ensure that each person is associated with only one dwelling, and hence had only one chance of selection in the survey. See Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0) for more details.

DATA COLLECTION

6 Information was collected through interviews conducted over a two week period in April 2007. Interviews were conducted either face-to-face or over the telephone. Information was obtained from any responsible adult in the household who was asked to respond on behalf of one randomly selected person aged 15 years and over in the household.

7 In each selected household, information was collected on whether the selected person was involved in organised sport in either playing or non-playing roles. This excluded persons who were involved only as a spectator or only as a club member. Information was also collected on the characteristics of persons involved, the nature of involvement (whether paid or unpaid) and, for persons involved in non-playing roles, whether they were involved in school or junior sport and whether they had completed a course or held qualifications for the role they performed.

8 All interviews were conducted using computer assisted interviewing (CAI).

SAMPLE SIZE

9 Supplementary surveys are not always conducted using the full LFS sample. Since August 1994 the sample for supplementary surveys has been restricted to no more than seven eighths of the LFS sample.

10 Approximately 94% of selected households were fully responding to the Work in Selected Culture and Leisure Activities Survey. One randomly selected person per household was interviewed for the Work in Selected Culture and Leisure Activities Survey and a total of 26,213 completed interviews were obtained.

DATA INTERPRETATION

11 Each person could have been involved in one or more of the following six categories of non-playing roles: coach, instructor or teacher; committee member or administrator; referee or umpire; scorer or timekeeper; medical support; and other role. Participation in each category was recorded only once, even if a person was involved in that role for a number of different sports or activities during the 12-month reference period. For example, a person on the committees of a tennis club and a netball club would be recorded only once as being involved as a committee member or administrator. Therefore, figures shown for each playing or non-playing role represent counts of persons involved in that type of role across all organised sport and physical activities.

12 Each person could have been involved as a player or participant, as well as undertaking one or more non-playing roles. For example, a person who coached and played sport would have been counted once in the 'coach, instructor or teacher' category and once as a 'player'.

13 Payment status was classified into two categories, namely, some paid involvement and unpaid involvement only. In Tables 2 and 5, where persons were involved in more than one of type of role (e.g., player, coach, etc.) then if they received some payment in dollars or goods and services for their involvement in any of these roles, they would be considered as having some paid involvement. In Table 4, only persons who received some payment in a non-playing role were considered to have some paid involvement. For example, if a person was unpaid for their involvement as a coach but received some payment in dollars or goods and services for their involvement as a player, they would be classified as having 'some paid involvement' in Table 2 and 5, but as 'Unpaid involvement only' in Table 4. Another example would be if a person received some payment for their involvement as a coach but no payment for their involvement as a scorer or timekeeper, they would be classified as having 'some paid involvement' in all tables.

COMPARABILITY OF TIME SERIES

14 The Involvement in Organised Sport and Physical Activity survey was previously conducted in 1997, 2001 and 2004. Due to changes in the methodology and the questionnaire, caution should be exercised when making comparisons between these surveys.

15 In 1997, information was obtained from two persons aged 15 years and over in each household. Respondents were asked about involvement in sport in the previous 12 months.

16 In 2001, information was obtained from a responsible adult who answered on behalf of one randomly selected person aged 15 years and over in each household. Respondents were asked about involvement in organised sport and physical activity in the previous 12 months.

17 In 2004 the methodology changed and a random sub-sample of 40% of interviews were conducted using computer assisted interviewing (CAI). The remainder of interviews were conducted using the traditional 'pen and paper' method. As in 2001 information was obtained from a responsible adult who answered on behalf of one randomly selected person aged 15 years and over in each household. Respondents were asked about involvement in organised sport and physical activity in the previous 12 months.

18 The 1997 survey asked about involvement in 'sport'. In contrast, the 2001, 2004 and 2007 surveys asked about involvement in 'organised sport and physical activity'. This change in wording may have had an impact on responses.

19 The change in wording of the question is likely to have had less impact on responses to non-playing roles, such as being a coach or referee. By definition, these non-playing roles are usually performed as part of an organised activity. In contrast, players or participants may have responded to these two questions differently because player participation in sport can be either organised or non-organised. Hence 'player participation' data have not been compared over time.

20 While the change in wording of the question from 'sport' to 'organised sport' may have had less impact on responses about non-playing roles (relative to players) there may still have been some impact. When asking about non-paying roles, it is possible that the expansion of the question to include organised 'physical activity' as well as organised 'sport' might have elicited a different response. However, even taking this change in wording into account, it is expected that most people would have reported their non-playing involvement when specifically asked about each role, regardless of whether the initial question asked about 'sport' (in 1997) or 'organised sport and physical activity' (in 2001, 2004 and 2007). Non-player roles have been compared over time in Tables 11 and 12 of this publication, but caution should still be exercised when interpreting these comparisons.

21 The characteristics of persons involved in at least one non-playing role are compared for 1997, 2001, 2004 and 2007 in Table 11. In all years, respondents were asked if they had been involved in any of the following roles: coach, instructor or teacher; referee or umpire; and committee member or administrator. However, the roles of scorer or timekeeper and medical support were specifically prompted in the 2001, 2004 and 2007 surveys. In 1997 respondents were asked whether there were any 'other' roles they were involved in and, if there were, they were then asked to provide detail about those roles. In 2001, 2004 and 2007, questions were asked about participation in the roles of scorer or timekeeper and medical support prior to asking about participation in any 'other' role. Therefore, it is possible that the 2001, 2004 and 2007 surveys could have elicited different responses from those who were involved in scorer or timekeeper and medical support roles, relative to 1997, due simply to the question wording.

22 In 1997, the roles of committee member and of administrator were collected separately whereas in 2001, 2004 and 2007 they were collected together under one role of 'committee member or administrator'. For example, in 1997, if a person reported that they were involved as both a committee member and an administrator, they would have been counted as having two separate involvements. In contrast, in subsequent surveys, this same person would have been recorded as having one involvement, (i.e. a committee member or administrator). In order to make comparisons over time, the 1997 data for committee member and administrator were re-analysed and combined into the one non-playing role. For this reason, 1997 estimates for this role as published in Table 12 will be different to those published in Involvement in Sport, Australia, 1997 (cat. no. 6285.0).

COMPARABILITY WITH OTHER ABS SURVEYS

23 Information on participation in sport as a player was also collected in the 2005-06 Multi-Purpose Household Survey (MPHS) and published in Participation in Sports and Physical Recreation, Australia, 2005-06 (cat. no. 4177.0).

24 Due to differences in the questions asked, the reference periods and the survey methodologies, caution should be exercised when making comparisons between the surveys. The RSEs of the estimates should also be taken into account. For information on the collection method, reference period and definitions used in the 2005-06 MPHS please refer to Participation in Sports and Physical Recreation, Australia, 2005-06 (cat. no. 4177.0).

25 The following table presents comparisons between player participation rates from Involvement in Organised Sport and Physical Activity and Participation in Sports and Physical Recreation.

PARTICIPATION IN ORGANISED SPORT AS A PLAYER
	Involvement in Organised Sport and Physical Activity (MPS)	Participation in Sports and Physical Recreation (MPHS)(a)
	%	%
Males	26	29
Females	20	26
Persons	23	27
(a) Organised participation only.

RELIABILITY OF THE ESTIMATES

26 Estimates in this publication are subject to sampling and non-sampling error.

27 Sampling error is the difference between the published estimate and the value that would have been produced if all dwellings had been included in the survey. For further information in sampling error, refer to the Technical Note.

28 Non-sampling errors are inaccuracies that occur because of imperfections in reporting by respondents and interviewers, and errors made in coding and processing data. These inaccuracies may occur in any enumeration, whether it be a full count or a sample. Every effort is made to reduce non-sampling error to a minimum by careful design of questionnaires, intensive training and supervision of interviewers and efficient processing procedures.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

29 ABS surveys draw extensively on information provided by individuals, businesses, governments and other organisations. Their continued cooperation is very much appreciated, as without it, the wide range of statistics published by the ABS would not be available. Information received by the ABS is treated in strict confidence as required by the Census and Statistics Act 1905.

NEXT SURVEY

30 The ABS plans to conduct this survey again in April 2010.

STATE/TERRITORY TABULATIONS

31 A series of tables in spreadsheet format equivalent to selected publication tables will be produced for each state and territory (subject to data quality and confidentiality considerations). These tables will be available from the ABS website <https://www.abs.gov.au> from the Details tab of this Issue.

RELATED PUBLICATIONS

32 Other ABS publications which may be of interest include:

Australian Social Trends, 2007, cat. no. 4102.0
Children's Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities, Australia, April 2006, cat. no. 4901.0
How Australians Use Their Time, 1997, cat. no. 4153.0
Participation in Sport and Physical Recreation, Australia, 2005-06, cat. no. 4177.0
Selected Amusement and Leisure Industries, Australia, 2000-01, cat. no. 8688.0
Sport and Recreation, A Statistical Overview, Australia, 2007 Edition 1, cat. no. 4156.0
Sports Attendance, Australia, 2005-06, cat. no. 4174.0
Sports and Physical Recreation Services, Australia, 2004-05, cat. no. 8686.0
Voluntary Work, Australia, 2006, cat. no. 4441.0