Benefits of Campus Recreational Sports: A Rasch Calibration

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to introduce Rasch analysis as a methodological advance in recreational sports research. Specifically, the Rasch technique is illustrated through its application to an empirical investigation of college students' perceived benefits from recreational sports participation. This study seeks to develop and calibrate sources of the Perceived Benefit Scale (PBS) for recreational sports participants at the college level using the Rasch model. Survey data from 940 students at a large public university in the southwestern United States were used in the study. The Rasch analysis results demonstrated that the 15 items were confirmed a unidimensional structure with any biased items, and the four-category response format functioned well. This research shows that the PBS is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used in the campus recreational sport setting to evaluate the benefit to students and develop management strategies.