Introduction to High Quality Evidence and Research Sources

Vocabulary flashcards covering primary vs. secondary research sources and the required characteristics of high-quality scientific evidence.

Evidence-Based Practitioner

A practitioner who makes decisions based on evidence rather than on hunch, intuition, or a previous protocol.

Primary Source

A firsthand account provided by the person or team of researchers who conducted the research, such as a kinesiology study published in a peer-reviewed journal describing a single research project.

Secondary Source

A secondhand account where the person or team recording the information is not the one who conducted the original research, such as a literature review, meta-analysis, position stand, or textbook.

Valid Evidence

Evidence that is truly testing what researchers want it to test.

Reliable Evidence

Evidence that is repeatable, replicable, gives lots of detail, and is objective.

Methodical

A characteristic of high-quality research that follows the specific procedure outlined by the scientific method.

Reductive

A characteristic of high-quality research where the study is narrowed down to focus on just one portion of a question in order to deeply understand that specific problem.

Measurable

A characteristic of high-quality research that includes dependent variables that can be quantified, objectively measured, and analyzed with statistics.

Logical

A characteristic of high-quality research where conclusions are based directly on the evaluation of the experimental design and statistical data.

Replicable

A characteristic of high-quality research that provides enough published detail for another researcher to perform the exact same experiment in the exact same way.

Anecdotal Evidence

Evidence, such as a personal story or individual experience, that does not follow the scientific method at all.