Developing Study Skills and Research Methods

Unit Leader: Dr James Betts

Unit Code: HL20107

J.Betts@bath.ac.uk

Objectives:

• Learn to review and critique scientific literature• Develop your presentation skills• Expand your understanding of research design• Gain a more advanced appreciation of data

analysis • Introduce you to different perspectives in

Exercise Science.

Lecture Schedule• Mondays 1515• All in room 5W 2.1• Weeks 1-11.

Week Topic1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

Introduction to Qualitative Research

Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis

Plagiarism

Unit Introduction / Reviewing scientific Literature

Practice Session for Assessed Presentations

Presenting Scientific Research

Assessed Presentations I

Scientific Communication

Can We Trust Sports Science?*

Assessed Presentations II

Assessed Presentations III.

* Prior reading required

Semester 1 Computer Laboratory Classes

• Friday 12.15• Weeks 4 & 5• Room 2E 1.14

• Friday 13.15• Week 4 & 5• Room 2E 1.14

Surnames A-I

Surnames J-Z

Week Topic19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

29

30

31

Introduction and Revision Session

Managing Violated Statistical Assumptions

Locating Variance: Post-Hoc Tests

Statistical Power: Sample and Effect Size

Linear Regression and Coursework Details

Data Collection Practical

Coursework Revision Lecture

One-Way Analysis of Variance

Timed Practical Computing Exercise

Coursework Hand-In.

Practice for Timed Practical Computing Exercise

Assessment• Coursework Project (40%)

– 2000 word project similar to the one you did last year but using more advanced statistical analyses

– The relevant research scenarios and data will be added to the web page in semester 2

– Hand-in date TBC at start of semester 2.

• Timed Practical Computing Exercise (20%)– In semester 2 you will be required to use SPSS to

analyse a number of data sets

Assessment• Group Literature Review (20%)

– Organise yourselves into groups of 5– Select an area of research that is of interest to you – Find and read relevant articles– Fill in the form on the web page to let me know

your group/topic by week 4 (20th October)– Write a 2000 word literature review– To be handed in Thursday 20th November 2014– Groups distribute your grades amongst others.

Assessment

• Group Presentations (20%)– Choose one original research article that is central to

your group literature review– Prepare a PowerPoint presentation as if the study was

to be presented at a scientific conference– You will be presenting as groups in weeks 9, 10 &11– I will let you know which week via Email after your

lecture on the 20th October

Previous Topics…

• The Effects of Training at Altitude

• Nutritional Strategies to Promote Recovery

• Psychological Components of Injury and Rehabilitation

• The Effects of Smoking on VO2 max

• The Effect of Pre-Exercise Stretching on Muscle Power Output.

Different types of papers• Primary literature• Secondary literature• Tertiary literature

Primary Literature• Research Papers• Case Studies• Conference Proceedings• Dissertations

Primary Literature• Research papers

– Original data

– First published record of the findings of an experiment of series of experiments

– Peer reviewed

– Normally a group of authors

Primary Literature• Case studies

– Medical/veterinary/psychology literature

– Normally peer reviewed

– Report the circumstances of a particular case

• i.e. an unusual repair technique for a ruptured achilles tendon

Primary Literature• Conference proceedings

– Vary in length and quality!

– Sometimes reviewed, sometimes not

– Often preliminary data

– Will often appear later in research paper form

Primary Literature• Dissertations

– Undergraduate research (BSc, MSc, BEng or MEng)

– Graduate research (MSc, MPhil, PhD)

– University published

– BSc all dissertation that achieve mark of 50% or above in library

– MPhil & PhD theses are examined and corrected

Secondary Literature• Review articles

– Information about primary sources

– Compilation or synthesis of ideas and data

– Should be reasonably objective (although often aren’t)

– Usually peer reviewed

Tertiary Literature• Textbooks – present science theory rather than

contributing to it

Research Paper Structure• Abstract• Introduction• Materials and Methods• Results• Discussion• References

Abstract• Advertisement for the paper• Summary of paper

– Reason for performing the study

– Hypothesis

– Important results

– Implications of the findings

Introduction• Background to the study• Brief overview of the current state of the field

– Citing other people’s work

“The function of tendons can be classified into two categories: tensile force transmission, and storage of elastic strain energy during locomotion (Ker et al., 1988, 2000; Shadwick, 1990; Pollock and Shadwick, 1994).”

(Maganaris and Paul, 2002)

Introduction• Background to the study• Brief overview of the current state of the field

– Citing other people’s work

• How the authors arrived at their research question• Why this is the most important question in the

world!• HYPOTHESIS

– Simple

– Easily answered

Materials and Methods• Clear concise description of what they did

– Often includes figure of experimental setup if appropriate

• Subjects• Data collection – what they were measuring and how• Analysis• Statistics

• Methods should be clear enough to repeat the experiment and give the same results

Results

• What they found• Visual representation of the data

– Graphs

– Tables

• Good figure legends• Description of their results - no

discussion of the implications

Discussion• Interpretation of the results• How they relate to previous research• Implication and/or applications of the findings

– How supplement A might improve endurance

– How knowledge of the forces at the knee during a cutting manoeuvre might be used to reduce injury risk

• Future directions for research

References• Expansion of the citations in the text• Record of the authors, title and journal where the

papers were published• Critically important to avoid plagiarism – must

include the sources of all information that is other people’s intellectual property

• Two citation methods– Harvard System– Numeric System

• Individual journals will request specific methods

References• Harvard System

– Cite references in the text by giving author’s surname(s) and year of publication.

“The function of tendons can be classified into two categories: tensile force transmission, and storage of elastic strain energy during locomotion (Ker et al., 1988, 2000; Shadwick, 1990; Pollock and Shadwick, 1994).”

References• Harvard System

– Cite references in the text by giving author’s surname(s) and year of publication.

“The function of tendons can be classified into two categories: tensile force transmission, and storage of elastic strain energy during locomotion (Ker et al., 1988, 2000; Shadwick, 1990; Pollock and Shadwick, 1994).”

(Maganaris and Paul, 2002)

– Reference list – alphabetical orderKer, R.F., Alexander, R.McN. and Bennet, M.B. 1988. Why are

mammalian tendons so thick? Journal of Zoology, London 216, 309-324

• Don’t use capitals for authors’ names as in library guide to referencing

References• Numeric System

– Each citation is given a number in parentheses. These are numbered according to where they appear in the text. First reference is (1), second reference is (2) etc

“However, excess tendon elongation leads to a partial or complete tendon rupture (4), and the Achilles tendon is one of the most frequently injured tendons in the human body (5)”

(Muraoka et al., 2005)

– Reference list – listed in numerical order based on number you have given each citation in the text.

4. Butler, D.L., Grood, E.S., Noyes, F.R.and Zernicke, R.F. 1978. Biomechanics of ligaments and tendons. Exerc. Sport Sci. Rev. 6, 125-181

References• Library Guide to Referencinghttp://www.bath.ac.uk/library/guides/references.html

What is a literature review?

• Critical look at existing research relevant to your question in order to– Identify the problem– Develop a hypothesis– Develop a method

• It is NOT just a summary of a series of research papers

• You must evaluate the research papers and show the relationships between different work

What is a literature review?• Approach it with the following questions

– What do we already know in the area concerned?– What are the key concepts?– What are the existing theories?– What are the inconsistencies?– What evidence is lacking, inconclusive, contradictory

or too limited?– What views need to be tested further?

Selecting a topic• Real World vs Theoretical

• Research at Bath or another institution

• Controversial issues

• Relevant to your sport

• Review papers

• Interesting!!!

Six Step Procedure (Thomas and Nelson, 1996)

• Problem statement

• Consult secondary sources– Reviews – Exercise and Sport Science reviews– Be wary of www sources

Evaluating Internet Sources• Is it someone’s ‘personal’ page?

• What type of domain does it come from?– academic, charity, industry, government

• Who published the page?

• What are the author’s credentials?

• Are sources documented?

• When was it last updated?

Six Step Procedure (Thomas and Nelson, 1996)

• Problem statement• Consult secondary sources

– Reviews – Exercise and Sport Science reviews– Be wary of www sources

• Determine descriptors– Search terms

• Search for primary sources• Read and record literature• Write literature review

Read and Record Literature• Hypothesis / Question• Methods

– Subjects– Instruments/tests used– Testing procedures

• Independent/dependent variables• Analysis• Findings and Conclusions• Critique of paper – strengths/weaknesses