Topic 2 - how do we conduct/interpret research in sport and exercise psychology (9qs)

antecedent vs consequences

Antecendets

Things that happen in ur brain that lead to the decision to do or not do exercise

Consequences

How exercise affects ur brain

How do we know the antecedents and consequences? what is the spectrum of research knowledge from very confident to basically clueless

via...

- the scientific method

- systematic observation

-single case study

- shared public experience

- introspection - when u examine thoughts and feelings

- intuition

what r the 4 objectives of science? what are examples of this applied to exercise psychology science

1. Describe: Accurately describe what the phenomenon is

eg. describe low exercise adherance rates

2. Explain why the phenomenon exists

eg. identify barriers and facilitstorss

3. Predict: Anticipate an event prior to its occurrence

eg. identify people at risk for low rates of exercise adherence - e.g., girls > boys)

4. Control: Ability ti manipulate the antecedent conditions (independant variable) that determine the occurrence of a given event

- (e.g., design and test an intervention to support increased exercise adherence among girls)

5 steps of the scientific method

1. develop the problec

2 make a hypothesis

3. design the study

4. gather the data

5 analyze and interpet the results

step 1 of scientific method Developing the problem:

this is where ur making ur research question

how?

- by identifying ur IV and DV

step 2 - formulating the hypothesis (when do we need a hypothesis and what is it)

it is the expected result/prediction, must be testable!!

- not needed during exploratory or qualitative research

how to generate?

- based on lived expereince, other research studies or theories

step 3 designing the study - types of studies

1. observational study: just observing a population. without manipulating variables

eg. looking at teh trajectory of particpation of girls in sport

2. Cross sectional dtify: comparing dif groups at one point in time w/o manipulating IV

eg. comparing body image bw exercisers, non exerc iser and athlets

3. experiemental designs: you do manipulate the IV to test cause and effect

exaple designs of observational studies

- Describe/Compare/Observe

- Cohort studies (following people over time)

- Case control studies

pros and cons of cross sectional designs

pros:

- low administation

- quick

- can observe meanigful differences

cons:

- common to assume causation when it is just a correlation your abserving

examples of experiemental designs

- Pre-Post Design: Measure outcomes before and after an intervention

• Quasi-Experimental: Manipulation of the independent variable

No control group

- quasi-experimental longitudinal: Manipulate independent variable, Observe the same group over time (eg, week 0,5, 10)

• Randomized Controlled Trial (gold star): Participants are randomly assigned to groups, Includes both manipulation and control

Longitudinal Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT): - Manipulate AND control independent variable (exercise) and observe over time

pros and cons of quasi experiemntal longitudinal designs

Pros • Change can be observed across time

Cons • High administration • Drop out • No control condition

pros and cons of RCT

pro

- con observe change over time

- can be confident in causation of the intervention

cons:

- HIGH ADMN

- high drop out especially from control

types of Synthesis and Review Designs

**Used to draw conclusions across multiple studies

Systematic review

Very rigourous

• Meta-Analysis

Systematic review that include mathematical calculations

• Narrative review

Less rigorous

Allows researcher to reflect on the data

• Rapid review

Less rigorous

how do we define exercise to mesure it in research?

define: PA, leisure time PA, exercise, organized sport and copetitive sport

Physical Activity

Any movement that results in an increased energy expenditure

Leisure Time Physical Activity

Physical activity done in one's leisure time

Exercise

A form of leisure time physical activity done to achieve a specific objective

Organized Sport

Physical activity setting that involves sport (may or may not be competitive)

Competitive Sport

Physical activity setting that involves competitive sport

what do we use to meaure PA and exercie

FITT principle

- frequency

- intesnity

- time

- type

When measuring exercise we use these fitt prinicpal in thinking about how we design our study:

Eg. diff intensities or frequencies af exercise can effect body image differently

Eg. your antecedent will be difference for a 10k run vs a 15 min run

step 4 of scientific method: gatherin the data - types of measures used in research

- self report/survey (can be logged or recalled after)

- objective/technical (eg. accelerometer or HR monitors)

- observational

types of measures for atecdents vs concequence

atendedents (eg. motovation) can be measured w:

- survey/questionare

- self report

- obsercational *not the best

consequences (eg. depession, body image)

- survey/questionaire

- medical diagnoses

- symptoms/medication

- observation of behaviour

what is an operational definition

clearly and concise define what your variable are and how theyll be measured (with what units)

Eg. what is physical activity? Physical activity will be measured by accelerometers as number of steps taken per day

HOW measured:

• Objective - accelerometer (fit bit)

WHAT units:

• Number of steps per day

2 types of validity

interna validity: how well the results of a DV can be attributed to the manipulation of the IV and not other factors

external validity: how well the results of the dv can be generalized beyond the research setting

how to maximize btoh tyeps of validity

internal:

- control for confounding variables either through design or statistics

eg. make sure all students get same sleep and food before test so exercise is only contributer to grade

eg. have them tell us how much sleep, screen time, breakfast etc to consider them in analysis **more realistic

- ensure ur using appropiate mesurment

- use a control group

- make a standardized protocol

external:

- make sure sample is generalizable and representative (eg. use dif genders, races,aages)

- have study relfect real life conditions

- follow up to see if effect last over time

- replicate results

step 5 of scientific method: analysing and interpreting results

why?

The describe the observations (eg in qualitative data)

Support or refute the hypotheses

To compare with other research, theories or other sources of info

**Must avoid overgneralizing result and REMEMBER: correlation ≠ causation

what is effect size

used in quatitative data that quantifies the SIZE of the difference bw 2 means and HOW significant the difference is (dif from p-value which just tells you if there is a sig dif)

unit = COHENS D

scientific vs practical meaning of effect size

Scientificlaly: Only variable that qaultifies the size fo that difference eg. SD, samples size

Practically: if we want to make decisions based on a just a pvalue can be risky because you wnat to be sure there is enough of a different practically depending on the research quesrion

Cohens D

= tells us HOW much of a significant difference tehre is bw 2 means (in unit of standard deviations)

= mean 1 - mean 2/ pooled SD

interpretation of cohens d

*the larger the effect size the more likley the intervention works

SMALL ~0.2

MEDIUM ~0.5

LARGE ~0.8

What is a Confounding Variable?

variable that affects the variables being studied so the results do not reflect the true relationship between IV and DV

- can be measured or unmeasured

What is a moderator?

A variable that alters the direction or strength of the relationship between IV and DV

Eg. IV = body weight, DV = body satisfaction

Moderator = what your satisfied with, ur current body, who and when you measure

Moderator Questions:

When?

For whom?

What is a MEdiator

Mediator = mechanism

a variable that explains the effects of the independent variable on the dependent variable

Eg. incr blood flow to brain (mediator) bc of exercise (IV) incr grades (DV)

Mediator Questions:

How?

What mechanisms?