Undergraduate Course: Sport Science 2D: Research Methods (SPRT08023)
Course Outline
| School | Moray House School of Education and Sport |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course will teach students the fundamentals of doing research in the area of sport and physical activity. It will teach students about a variety of research methods used within this field. Students will gain experience in data analysis and learn how to design and critically evaluate scientific studies and their findings. |
| Course description |
This course will deal with a range of quantitative and qualitative methods for carrying out research in the area of sport and physical activity, from surveys to meta-analyses and laboratory-based experiments. The philosophy behind scientific enquiry will be studied, as well as ethical principles of research. The course will address factors affecting the validity and reliability of research, such as research design and participant sampling techniques. Students will learn how to analyse data from the field of sport science using descriptive and inferential statistics. Students will learn how to critically appraise research studies in the area of Sport Science.
This teaching and learning is research-led. Members of academic staff the Institute for Sport, Physical Education and Health Science (ISPEHS) who contribute to this course are all members of one or more of the following research groups hosted by ISPEHS: (1) Physical Activity for Health Research Centre (PAHRC), (2) Edinburgh Sports Research, (3) Human Performance Science (HPS) (4) Physical Education Research Forum (PERF).
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2022/23, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 72 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 26,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 6,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 5,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 5,
Formative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
152 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
100 %,
Coursework
0 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
1 x 2 hr written examination (100%)
Critical analysis of research study in the area of Sport Science (pass/fail) |
| Feedback |
Informal Feedback - This takes place during teaching, seminars and practicals throughout the semester. Your tutors will comment on your understanding of the ideas covered in the course, and may give you specific advice regarding your progress. Such feedback is intended to help you understand what your strengths and development points are, and to enable you to take informed responsibility for your learning and progression.
Discussion forum - Throughout the course as a whole the students are encouraged to use a discussion forum in LEARN. Any questions posted by students about teaching, learning and assessment are be responded to by the course tutors for everyone to see.
Cohort feedforward - Detailed cohort feed-forward from previous cohorts of students is provided for all assessments on this course.
Formative Feedback - One of the practicals halfway through the course will involve a quiz that consists partly of questions covering course content up to that point. Students will be able to assess their progress in the course and their understanding of methodological issues and techniques.
Summative Feedback- Individual feedback on the assignment and cohort feedback on the exam will be provided through Learn. Individual feedback on the exam is available from the course tutor by arrangement. |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
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| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | | 2:00 | | | Resit Exam Diet (August) | | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate understanding of basic philosophical and ethical principles underpinning scientific enquiry.
- Demonstrate understanding of types of validity and reliability, common threats to validity and ways to improve validity and reliability.
- Demonstrate understanding of hypothesis testing, type I and type II errors, significance, power and effect size.
- Demonstrate understanding of basic descriptive and inferential data analysis and how to report and interpret the results according to scientific convention.
- Demonstrate awareness and basic understanding of a range of quantitative and qualitative research methods used in the area of sport and physical activity
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Learning Resources
Thomas, J., Nelson, J. & Silverman, S. (2011). Research Methods in Physical Activity. Leeds: Human Kinetics.
Field, A. (2013). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS Statistics. London: Sage. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
This course addresses 14 of the 20 graduate attributes developed on the BSc Applied Sport Science degree
RESEARCH AND ENQUIRY
(1) Understand the philosophy of scientific methods of enquiry in order to critically evaluate evidence and analyse research literature.
(2) Search for, access, critically analyse, evaluate and synthesize information from literature in order to answer research questions in sport and exercise sciences.
(3) Plan and execute research projects, involving data collection and analysis, which answer research questions in sport and exercise sciences.
(4) Interpret data collected or reported in sport, physical activity and exercise studies.
(5) Synthesize knowledge from various disciplines so as to understand the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary nature of sport and exercise sciences.
(6) Develop logical arguments surrounding issues within sport science, physical activity and exercise.
PERSONAL AND INTELLECTUAL AUTONOMY
(7) Be independent learners who can take responsibility for their own learning.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
(9) Be able to communicate clearly using oral and written methods, including posters, presentations, essays, web pages, in order to critique, negotiate, create or communicate understanding.
(10) Be able to use communication as a means for collaborating with and relating to others including staff, other students and research participants.
PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS
(13) Have developed their organisational, time management and decision-making skills
(15) Be able to transfer knowledge and ideas between different contexts within sport, exercise and health
TECHNICAL/PRACTICAL SKILLS
(17) Be able to use the test, measurement and analysis tools appropriate to sport, physical activity and exercise, including for example laboratory or field tests.
(18) Be able to design, deliver and analyse the effects of training interventions in sport, physical activity and exercise.
(19) Be able to select and apply the appropriate statistical procedures to analyse empirical data. |
| Keywords | Ethics,Risk Assessment,Sampling,Validity,Reliability,Statistics,Sport Science,Research Methods |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Martine Verheul
Tel: (0131 6)51 6554
Email: |
Course secretary | Mr Pawel Horyszny
Tel: (0131 6)51 6571
Email: |
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