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EHR427 Research Methods in Movement Science (32)

Abstract

The aim of this subject is to enable students to become informed consumers and critics of research. Published research results cannot be accepted blindly as valid and reliable just because they have a ‘research’ label. There is good and poor quality research and in order to discriminate between them, it is necessary first to understand the planning and design of different kinds of quantitative and qualitative research studies. Since the results of research are frequently reported as statistical data, it is necessary also to have an understanding of the fundamentals of statistical reasoning. Students will undertake a review of the literature in their chosen area of research, reading and analysing relevant journal articles and books, and synthesising their reading to provide a cogent and critical account of the state of knowledge and theory. This review ultimately will form part of their honours thesis. Students will also design and plan their research project and present their research proposal formally to the School in order to gain feedback and approval to proceed.

+ Subject Availability Modes and Location

Session 1
InternalBathurst Campus
Continuing students should consult the SAL for current offering details: EHR427
Where differences exist between the Handbook and the SAL, the SAL should be taken as containing the correct subject offering details.

Subject information

Duration Grading System School:
One sessionHD/FLSchool of Human Movement Studies

Enrolment restrictions

Bachelor of Exercise Science (Honours) students only

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this subject, students should:
  • be able to articulate and adhere to the principles of ethical conduct of research;
  • be able to describe the components of good design in quantitative and qualitative research;
  • be able to explain the purpose of inferential statistical methods;
  • be able to describe the most widely used parametric and nonparametric statistical tests;
  • be able to understand Type I and Type II errors in statistical inference;
  • be able to describe techniques of quantitative and qualitative data sampling, analysis and intepretation;
  • be able to explain the difference between an independent variable and a dependent variable and the threat posed by confounding variables;
  • be able to explain the difference between the research hypothesis, the null hypothesis and the alternate hypothesis;
  • be able to explain the difference between an independent group and repeated measures experimental design;
  • be able to explain the sources for between-groups variability and within-groups variability;
  • be able to describe the statistical methods used in research to find correlations between variables;
  • be able to present formally to the School of Human Movement Studies a well-developed plan of a research project;
  • be able to write a review of literature that provides a cogent and critical account of the state of knowledge and theory in the topic area of their research project.

Syllabus

The subject will cover the following topics:
  • Research ethics;
  • Searching literature and electronic databases;
  • Reference management – EndNote software;
  • Reviewing literature;
  • Systematic reviews;
  • Developing research questions and hypotheses;
  • Research design;
  • Qualitative research;
  • Hypothesis testing;
  • Parametric statistics;
  • Non-parametric statistics;
  • Linear regression and correlation;
  • Data processing in Excel;
  • Computer graphics;
  • Oral presentation of research.

Specialised Resources

Students will require access to the Exercise and Sport Science Laboratories located on the Bathurst campus, including equipment therein and specialised software for quantitative and qualitative research (eg. Survey Monkey, NVivo).  Funding will be required for purchase of consumables and/or transcription services related to their research project. At times, it may be necessary for students to travel for data collection purposes.

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The information contained in the 2016 CSU Handbook was accurate at the date of publication: 06 September 2016. The University reserves the right to vary the information at any time without notice.