DESIGNING ANDCONDUCTING RESEARCHIN HEALTH AND HUMAN

PERFORMANCE

DESIGNING ANDCONDUCTING RESEARCHIN HEALTH AND HUMAN

PERFORMANCE

TRACEY D. MATTHEWSKIMBERLY T. KOSTELIS

Copyright 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Matthews, Tracey D., 1967-Designing and conducting research in health and human performance / Tracey D. Matthews,

Kimberly T. Kostelis. – 1st ed.p. cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 978-0-470-40480-5 (pbk.); 978-1-118-06709-3 (ebk.); 978-1-118-06710-9 (ebk.);

978-1-118-06711-6 (ebk.)1. Physical education and training—Research. 2. Physical fitness. 3. Experimental design. I. Kostelis,Kimberly T., 1977- II. Title.[DNLM: 1. Physical Education and Training. 2. Research Design. 3. Research Report. 4. ReviewLiterature as Topic. 5. Sports Medicine. 6. Statistics as Topic. QT 255]

RA781.M3844 2011610.72–dc22

2011011790

Printed in the United States of AmericaFIRST EDITION

PB Printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

C O N T E N T S

Tables and Figures xi

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xv

The Authors xvii

Part 1 Understanding Important Research Concepts

1 Introduction to Research in Health and HumanPerformance 3

What You’ll Learn 3

Defining the Research Process 4

Research Continuum: Applied and Basic Research 10

Summary 14

Review Questions 15

Key Terms 15

2 Concepts in Research Designs 17

What You’ll Learn 17

Overview of Research Designs 18

Understanding Research Variables 20

Measuring Research Variables 24

Interpreting Research Designs 26

Summary 29

Review Questions 30

Key Terms 31

vi CONTENTS

Part 2 Reviewing the Literature

3 Developing Your Research Topic and InterpretingResearch Reports 35

What You’ll Learn 35

Identifying the Problem 35

Accessing Sources 44

Reading and Interpreting Research Reports 51

Summary 56

Review Questions 57

Key Terms 57

4 Writing the Review of Literature 59

What You’ll Learn 59

Developing an Outline 60

Writing Scientifically 69

Summary 79

Review Questions 80

Key Terms 80

Part 3 Understanding and Developing Research Designs

5 Quantitative Research Designs 83

What You’ll Learn 83

Descriptive Research Designs 84

Experimental Research Designs 96

Correlation Research Designs 102

Summary 104

Review Questions 105

Key Terms 105

6 Qualitative Research Designs 107

What You’ll Learn 107

Characteristics of Qualitative Research 107

CONTENTS vii

Procedures in Qualitative Research 113

Types of Qualitative Research Designs 120

Summary 126

Review Questions 128

Key Terms 128

7 Mixed-Methods and Action Research Designs 129

What You’ll Learn 129

Overview of Mixed-Methods Research Designs 129

Framework for Mixed-Methods Research Designs 132

Action Research 138

Summary 142

Review Questions 144

Key Terms 144

8 Ethics in Research 145

What You’ll Learn 145

Ethics Within Research 146

Summary 159

Review Questions 160

Key Terms 160

9 Developing Your Research Proposal 161

What You’ll Learn 161

Sampling 162

Writing Your Introduction 168

Developing Your Methods 174

Summary 179

Review Questions 179

Key Terms 180

Part 4 Exploring Measurement and Analysis

10 Validity, Reliability, Objectivity 183

What You’ll Learn 183

Validity Concepts 184

viii CONTENTS

Reliability Concepts 195

Objectivity Concepts 200

Summary 201

Review Questions 202

Key Terms 203

11 Introduction to Statistics and Hypothesis Testing 205

What You’ll Learn 205

Introduction to Statistics 206

Descriptive Statistics 215

Hypothesis Testing 219

Summary 224

Review Questions 225

Key Terms 225

12 Quantitative Data Analysis 227

What You’ll Learn 227

Inferential Statistics 227

Examining Relationships 230

Examining Differences 236

Examining Type I and Type II Errors 247

Summary 248

Review Questions 249

Key Terms 249

13 Qualitative Analysis: Interpreting the Data 251

What You’ll Learn 251

Recording Your Data 251

Managing Your Data 253

Writing the Report 258

Trustworthiness of the Data 265

Summary 267

Review Questions 268

Key Terms 269

CONTENTS ix

14 Results and Discussion: Writing What You Found 271

What You’ll Learn 271

Results Section 272

Discussion Section 275

Writing Your Abstract 279

Summary 280

Review Questions 281

Part 5 Putting It All Together

15 Presenting Your Research 285

What You’ll Learn 285

Poster Presentations 286

Oral Presentation 295

Summary 301

Review Questions 301

Glossary 303

References 311

Index 319

T A B L E S A N D F I G U R E S

Tables

1.1 Steps in the Scientific Method2.1 Overview of Research Designs2.2 Summary of Research Variables2.3 Characteristics of Internal and External Validity3.1 Finalizing Your Research Question3.2 Common Databases Used in Health and Human Performance3.3 Nine-Step Approach to Reading Research Journal Articles4.1 Funneling Your Research4.2 Sections of a Review of Literature with Sample Headings5.1 Characteristics of Internal and External Validity5.2 Correlational Designs Versus Experimental Designs6.1 Qualitative and Quantitative Research Characteristics6.2 Example of Narrative Inquiry Research10.1 Interpreting Validity Coefficients10.2 Interpreting Reliability Coefficients10.3 Calculating Alpha Reliability Among Extrinsic Motivation Items11.1 Levels of Data12.1 Summarizing Using Alpha Levels to Determine Statistical Significance15.1 Font Sizes for Your Poster Presentation

Figures

1.1 Scientific Method1.2 Applied and Basic Research Continuum3.1 Example of Phase I Concept Mapping3.2 Example of Phase II Concept Mapping3.3 Example of Google Search Results

xii TABLES AND FIGURES

3.4 Example of Google Scholar Search Results4.1 Concept of Funneling7.1 Triangulation Design7.2 Explanatory Design7.3 Embedded Design7.4 Exploratory Design7.5 Action Research Cycle8.1 Human Studies Timeline10.1 Validity Flowchart10.2 Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis10.3 Reliability Flowchart11.1 Normal Distribution11.2 Skewed Distributions11.3 Normal Distribution with Standard Deviation Units11.4 Platykurtic and Leptokurtic Curves11.5 Mean11.6 Median11.7 Range11.8 Standard Deviation11.9 Two-Tailed Approach11.10 Examining Alpha Levels12.1 Pearson by Hand12.2 Pearson by Computer12.3 Spearman Formula12.4 Independent Groups t-Test By Hand12.5 Independent Groups t-Test by Computer12.6 One-Way ANOVA—Computer12.7 Paired Samples t-Test—Computer12.8 Chi-Square—Computer13.1 Examples of Themes in Norman et al. (2010)13.2 Example of Responses in Norman et al. (2010)15.1 Poster Template

P R E F A C E

THE INSPIRATION for this textbook began when I first started teaching at asmall liberal arts college in Vermont, Castleton State College. The Phys-ical Education Department included a Senior Thesis class designed to

introduce undergraduates to research methods in physical education and exercisescience. As I searched for textbooks to use, I realized that most of the researchmethods texts in exercise science and physical education were written with thegraduate student in mind. At that time, I realized there was a need for such atextbook for undergraduate students. Later, after moving on to Springfield Col-lege, I had the privilege of having Dr. Kimberly Kostelis as my graduate assistant.I knew that if we partnered, we could write an effective and informative researchmethods textbook for undergraduates in health and human performance.

We have many years of experience presenting research methods to bothgraduate and undergraduate students, and we hope you agree that we havebeen able to gear this textbook for the particular needs of the undergraduatestudent. We emphasize real-world applications of research methods throughoutthe text. We draw on many different examples from the areas of health andhuman performance, with the hope that these examples will provide you with acontext in which to understand research.

We also designed the textbook in a very specific sequence. In the first section,‘‘Understanding Important Research Concepts,’’ we provide the reader with aholistic picture of research in process. Recognizing that at this beginning pointstudents may know very little about the research process, and it may seemoverwhelming, we took great care to continually reemphasize these conceptsthroughout the text.

After providing the foundational concepts to ensure that you have a basicunderstanding of the important concepts of research in Part One, we begin topresent how to go about writing a review of literature in Part Two, ‘‘Reviewingthe Literature.’’ Within the chapters of Part Two, we provide you with thenecessary tools to identify your topic, search for related articles on your topic,and write a review of literature. Throughout you will notice practical, real-world