Module 2, Research in Kinesiology Flashcards
What is Science?
science: the systematic study of the natural world
- identification and labelling of variables/constructs (variables are specific to quantitative research that is why it could involve because not all research uses variables)
- design of research allows for evaluation of the problem
What is Research?
- a process of gathering information
- a process of analyzing information (if we are using quantitative research we would use statistics to analyze it and make sense of it or we might try to find patterns and themes across that data for qualitative data)
- a process that contributes to new knowledge
What ‘counts’ as research? (what is research not)
research is not:
- the gathering of information (from books or other sources)
◦ offers no contribution to new
knowledge
◦ research has to be new
founded information (my note)
research is not:
- a task that makes existing knowledge more accessible
◦ merely the transportation of
facts from one resource to
another
◦ knowledge translation
Research Dimensions
research can be organized according to a number of different dimensions:
- topic
- novelty
- technology
- scope
- mode
- methodology
- ideology
- politics
- utility
Research Dimensions: Topic
in kinesiology topics can go from the biophysical side to the psychosocial side with things like clinical, behavioural, psychological, economic , social topics falling in the middle of those
examples of topics in kinesiology:
- sociology of sport
- sport management
- adapted physical activity
- recreation, leisure and tourism
- motor development and skill acquisition
- biomechanics
- physiology and biochemistry
- sport pedagogy
- sport/exercise psychology
Research Dimensions: Novelty
- creating new vs. past knowledge
- generally research is about creating new knowledge
- meta analysis, meta synthesis and systematic review (these 3 are seen was ways of presenting new knowledge/research as they document the methods)
Literature Review, Systematic Review, Meta-synthesis and Meta-analysis
Q: METHOD SECTION (YES OR NO) & TYPE OF STUDIES INCLUDED
literature review: no & qualitative and/or quantitative
- synthesizing it or brining it together to write about a particular topic (can include many different sources)
- here you are not doing anything new as there is no methods section, if there is no methods section there is no information on how the research was done, bias can come in and without a method, research and processes cannot be replicated (not memorizing - to help understand)
systematic review: yes & qualitative and/or quantitative
meta-synthesis: yes & qualitative
meta-analysis: yes & quantitative
Meta-Analysis (only quantitative)
- they take different statistics from different studies and make a super statistic
- effect size tells us how much difference there is between groups or how strong a relationship is
- they take effect sizes from different studies and make an overarching effect size
- meta-analyses involves synthesizing all the studies that are out there to come together and contribute to a overall effect size
- in analyzing that effect size you can also look at moderators (does an intervention or human indulgence have a particular effect for one group but a slightly different effect for a different group? (Dr. Mark Beauchamp note)
Research Dimensions: Technology
- developing a new method or use an existing method?
- development or novel investigation of…
◦ a measuring device (ex. how
soon after you become
pregnant do you know you are
pregnant, body fat measurer)
◦ a psychometric instrument
(questionnaire or inventory)
◦ a protocol for a physical
performance test (ex. beep
test, cooper run)
◦ a diagnostic test (ex. being
able to detect covid, breast
cancer etc.)
◦ a method of analysis (statistics
look at this)
Research Dimensions: Scope (single case or larger sample)
- single case: intrinsic or instrumental understanding of a particular instance
- large sample: understanding of “what generally happens”
focus on a single case or large sample?
- single case: can go in depth into a specific case, can get more context, could be faster, if there are fewer people the methods can be more flexible
- larger sample: can look at different categorical differences, could look at variability within specific populations, more peoples gives you more of a representation
- outliers sometimes should not be put in large samples rather single cases
Research Dimensions: Mode of Injury (observational (non-experimental))
- goal = gather data or information about the world as it is (nothing trying to change anything in the world)
- hope the fact of studying does not substantially modify the thing you are investigating
◦ if you know you are being
observed you may change
your behaviour which can
modify the results - ex. what are the biomechanics behind an efficient sprint start but not trying to change it (just observing, seeing what already exists)
Research Dimensions: Mode of Injury (experimental or intervention)
- you do something to the world and see what happens (are trying to change something)
- you gather data or information almost always before and after the intervention, then look for changes
- ex. perhaps trying to change someone’s joint angle as they come out and see if they can generate a faster start
Research Dimensions: Methodology (quantitative)
- data collection with instrument (ex of instruments include goniometer, EMG, grip test, timer, scale, ruler, accelerometer)
- test hypothesis or relationships among variables/constructs
- address validity, reliability and measurement issues
Research Dimensions: Methodology (qualitative)
- data collection with researcher-as-instrument (the researcher is the instrument, if the researcher is interviewing someone they are the instrument - as they are interpreting stuff, making up the questions, and can impact how someone answers something)
- thematically analyze data (inductively and/or deductively)
- address credibility, trustworthiness, etc.
- NO hypothesis in qualitative research (interested in looking at detail and context, so we are not going in with predetermined ideas rather we want to know about someone’s experience)
-> qualitative and quantitative both have different evaluation criteria’s
Research Dimensions: Ideology (objective and subjective)
- aka, paradigm or philosophy
- the way you “see” the world, the “lens” through which you view research
- dictates what “counts” as “facts” or “reality”
- we already have views on how research should or would be conducted and not all researchers believe research is, could or would be objective as they believe it is subjective
objective <-> subjective
