Developing Study Skills and Research Methods

1. Developing Study Skills and Research Methods Unit Code: HL20107 Unit Leader: Dr James Betts J.Betts@bath.ac.uk

2. 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. Objectives:

3. Lecture Schedule • Mondays 9.15 am • All in room 3E 2.4 • Weeks 1-11.

4. Unit Overview/How to Write a literature Review Designing Surveys Presenting Scientific Research Plagiarism Job Applications/CV Writing* Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods* Data Collection and Analysis in Qualitative Research Can We Trust Sports Science?* Assessed Presentations I Assessed Presentations II Assessed Presentations III. *Prior Reading/Preparation Required

5. Tuesday 10.15 pm Weeks 4 & 5 Room 1W 2.25 Tuesday 11.15 pm Week 4 & 5 Room 1W 2.25 Semester 1 Computer Laboratory Classes Surnames A-L Surnames M-Z

6. Introduction and Revision Session One-Way Analysis of Variance Managing Violated Statistical Assumptions Locating Variance: Post-Hoc Tests Statistical Power: Sample and Effect Size Linear Regression and Coursework Details Data Collection Practical Practice for Timed Practical Computing Exercise Timed Practical Computing Exercise Coursework Revision Lecture Coursework Hand-In.

7. 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 week 25 Hand-in date TBC in week 19. Assessment • Timed Practical Computing Exercise (20%) • In week 29 you will be required to use SPSS to analyse a number of data sets

8. Group Literature Review (20%) Organise yourselves into groups of 4 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 us know your group/topic by week 4 (25th October) Write a 2000 word literature review To be handed in Thursday 25th November 2010 Groups distribute your own grades. Assessment

9. 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 25th October Assessment

10. 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.

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

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

13. 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

14. 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

15. Primary Literature • Conference proceedings • Vary in length and quality! • Sometimes reviewed, sometimes not • Often preliminary data • Will often appear later in research paper form

16. 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

17. 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

18. Tertiary Literature • Textbooks – present science theory rather than contributing to it

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

20. Abstract • Advertisement for the paper • Summary of paper • Reason for performing the study • Hypothesis • Important results • Implications of the findings

21. 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)

22. 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

23. 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 Materials and Methods

24. Results • What they found • Visual representation of the data • Graphs • Tables • Good figure legends • Description of their results - no discussion of the implications

25. 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 Discussion

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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 order Ker, R.F., Alexander, R.McN. and Bennet, M.B. 1988. Why are mammalian tendons so thick? Journal of Zoology, London216, 309-324 Don’t use capitals for authors’ names as in library guide to referencing References

29. 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

30. Library Guide to Referencing http://www.bath.ac.uk/library/guides/references.html References

31. 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

32. 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?

33. Selecting a topic • Real World vs Theoretical • Research at Bath or another institution • Controversial issues • Relevant to your sport • Review papers • Interesting!!!

34. Six Step Procedure (Thomas and Nelson, 1996) • Problem statement • Consult secondary sources • Reviews – Exercise and Sport Science reviews • Be wary of www sources

35. 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?

36. 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

37. 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

38. How to Write a Literature Review • Background • Introduce to topic to the reader • Make it interesting and easily understandable by explaining it in plain language and relating to actual or potential applications • Explain scientific principles underlying the topic • Define and justify the scope of the review – i.e. your question

39. How to Write a Literature Review • Critique of the Literature • Do not give a summary paper by paper • Deal with themes and try to draw together the results from several papers into each theme. • Use sub-headings to identify your themes • Try and create a logical progression through the subject/argument • Use what you have learnt about research design to critically evaluate the results of the papers you are discussing

40. How to Write a Literature Review • Tables and Figures • Tables can be a useful, concise way of summarising the findings of a number of similar studies • You must cite the sources of the information • Use tables alongside your evaluation of the data in the text, not instead of it • Figures and diagrams can be very useful to explain important principles • Cite source of information

41. How to Write a Literature Review • Conclusions • Should be short and concise • What is your opinion • Further Research • Finish your review with some ideas for further research that needs to be done in the area and why.

42. How to Write a Literature Review • References • As used in Journal of Sports Sciences • Names of author (s) and date of publication in the text • Full references listed in alphabetical order in the reference list • Instructions on formatting references can be found in all issues of JSS or on the JSS website • http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/authors/rjspauth.pdf Section 5(h)

43. Writing Style • Spelling, grammar and punctuation matter! • Use spell check • Ask someone to read your paper for you before handing it in • Fonts and Symbols • Do not use stylised fonts • Many of the symbols needed for scientific information can be found in insert-symbol • Normal text (° ± Δ ½) • Mathematical operators (Ω √ ≤ ∑)

44. Writing Style • Abbreviations and Acronyms • Keep to a minimum • Only use if full expression is excessively long or abbreviation is in common use • Define the first time it is used • Use SI (Systeme Internationale) Units • km, m, cm, mm, µm • kg, g, mg, µg • L, ml • d, h, min, s, ms • °C • mol • ms-1 or m/s

45. Writing Style • Tables • Insert-Table in word • Units in column and row headings • Use a realistic number of significant figures • Include a legend which describes the table • Figures • Create figure in powerpoint of graphics software • Insert-picture from file • Create graphs in Excel or other graph drawing package • Paste into word • For this review paste figures into appropriate place in the text. For publication figures should be separate

46. Writing Style • Use of Words • Be economical – don’t waffle • Be precise – don’t generalise, be specific if you can • Don’t use however more than once in a paragraph • changing the direction of an argument twice in one paragraph can confuse the reader • Don’t use however too often • Thesaurus for synonyms • Keep technical terms to a minimum • Avoid colloquialisms such as steer clear of

47. Writing Style • Use of Words • Don’t use long complicated sentences • Beware of tenses • When describing experiments and reporting results use past tense • When discussing implications use present tense • Beware of singular and plural terms • Datum – data • Medium – media • Phenomenon – phenomena

48. Writing Style • Flow of Ideas • Focus your thoughts by writing a plan/outline first • The first sentence of a paragraph usually sets the topic for the paragraph • Check that you don’t contradict yourself • Aim for simplicity!

49. READ YOUR WORK BEFORE YOU HAND IT IN!!!Preferably ask someone else to read it too!