Reading and Evaluating
Research
KINE 5300
Research Methods
Dr. Joel T. Cramer
CSCS,*D; NSCA-CPT,*D; ACSM H/FI
Assistant Professor
Department of Kinesiology
General Outline
Component parts of a research
article
– Introduction
– Methods
– Results
– Discussion
– References
Evaluating a research article
Table 6.1
Preliminary Information
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–
–
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Title
Authors and organization affiliation
Acknowledgements (if any)
Abstract
–
–
–
–
Background information and literature review
Rationale for study
Problem statement (purpose statement)
Hypotheses or research questions
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–
–
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Participants
Instrumentation
Procedures
Statistical Analysis
Introduction
Methods
Results
– Presentation of data
Discussion
– Conclusions
– Recommendations
References
Appendix (if appropriate)
Preliminary Information
Title
– Usually ~15 words
– Important for indexing (NLM)
Authors’ names and affiliations
– Contact info for corresponding author
Acknowledgements
– Can also be at the very end of the paper
– People who helped, funding agencies
Preliminary Information
Abstract
– Typically 150 – 300 words long
– Contains very brief summaries of each
section of the “full text” article:
Introductory Statement (if any)
Purpose Statement
Abbreviated Methods
Abbreviated Results
Conclusion and Application Statement
Preliminary Information
Key Words
– Important for indexing (NLM)
Introduction
Background Information
– Purpose of Intro is to “build a case”
– Well-written Intro contains:
Definitions of concepts and terms
Review of relevant literature
Statement of the Research Problem
Purpose Statement
Hypotheses
How to Identify Purpose Statement
Look near the end of the Intro
Look for phrases like:
– “The purpose of this study was…”
– “This study was designed to…”
– “This investigation sought to…”
– “The present study explored…”
– “The primary aim of this experiment
was…”
How to Identify Hypotheses
Look near the end of the Intro or in a
special section designated as
“Research Questions” or “Approach
to the Problem”
Look for phrases like:
– “Based on previous studies, ___ was
expected to…”
– “We hypothesized that…”
Methods
Required components:
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–
–
–
Subjects or Participants
Instrumentation
Procedures
Statistical Analysis
Optional components:
– Research Design
– Variables (independent and dependent)
– Validity and Reliability
Concept of Methods:
– Readers must be able to replicate this study if
desired.
Subjects or Participants
How many subjects? (n=?)
Mean ± SD for age, height, and weight
What are the delimitations of the
subjects?
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–
–
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Athletes or non-athletes
Trained or untrained (training status)
Active or sedentary
Men or women
Study was approved by IRB and subjects
signed informed consent forms
Instrumentation
Each piece of equipment used to
collect data
– Name brand, manufacturer, city, state
– User manuals
– Specific procedures for using each piece
of equipment
Readers must be able to replicate
Procedures
Precise description of any/all
interventions (step-by-step)
– Exercise testing and/or training
– Nutrition consumption
– Time of day
– …everything necessary for replication
Statistical Analysis
What specific statistical models were used
to analyze the data?
–
–
–
–
Descriptive
T-tests
ANOVAs
Regression (linear, nonlinear, polynomial)
Effect size and power estimation
procedures
A priori type I error rate (alpha)
– α=0.05
Research Design
What design was used to conduct
this study?
– Cross-sectional or longitudinal
– Within-subjects or between-subjects
– Cross-over, counterbalanced
– Repeated measures or randomized block
design (Keppel, 1991)
– Double-blind, single-blind
Results
A very brief section
Can often be done in its entirety by a
Table or Figure or both
Presentation of the data
Explanation of the decomposition of
the statistical models
Reporting the type I error rates
Reporting the mean values, SD, SEM,
% change, and effect sizes
Discussion
Purpose is to summarize the results and
interpret them relative to the field of study
– Each paragraph or subsection of the discussion
deals with one or two dependent variables
Brief re-statement of what others have found
Summary of what the present article found
Authors’ interpretation/integration of the findings
Hypothesize regarding the findings
Recommend or apply
Suggest extensions
Discussion usually ends in a Conclusive
paragraph
Reference List
Some journals limit references to 30
or 40
– Usually due to page limits
Review articles often have 100-200
references
Need to be in the format indicated by
the “Instructions for Authors”
Instructions for Authors
Every journal must have instructions
for potential authors
– Some journals are more definitive than
others
ECN, JSCR, RQES – 1 page instructions
JAP, MSSE, new JSCR - ~12-15 page
instructions
Definitions of Terms
Manuscript:
– Research paper that is being written or
has been written and submitted for
publication, but is not yet published
Article:
– Published research manuscript
How are manuscripts written?
Methods section – 1st
Results section – 2nd
Discussion – 3rd
Introduction – 4th
Abstract – last
Miscellaneous Info
Terminology
– Humans = men & women
– Animals = male & female
– “participants” not “subjects”
Many “anomalies”
– Approach to the Problem
– Practical Applications
– Design
Evaluating a Research Article
Critique
Criteria for Article Critiques
Some journals provide their criteria
for potential authors to review
BEFORE they submit
Table 6.9 (next slide)
Table 6.10
– Excellent checklist
Assignment for Next Week
Determine a project area
– This will be your project that will be due at the
end of the semester
– Your literature review and research question
presentations are in 3 weeks
You will be expected to use the guidelines discussed
tonight to evaluate the studies you present
– Discuss this with me before class next week
Read Chapter 4 (103-123)
Next week is IRB training module