Department for Health
Sport and Exercise Science
HL10040 Introduction to Study Skills and Research Methods
Unit Outline
YEAR:
SEMESTER:
CREDITS:
DURATION:
1
1
6
30 hrs (contact)
70 hrs (own study time)
ASSESSMENT:
Mid-term test 40 %
Coursework project 60 %
UNIT LEADER:
Dr James Betts
(office hours Tuesdays & Wednesdays 1315-1415)
1West 4.124, Tel. 01225 383 448
Email: J.Betts@bath.ac.uk
CONTACT:
Aims
To provide an introduction to the necessary skills for study within the global field of
Sport and Exercise Science.
To introduce the underlying principles of research design and analysis.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this unit, students should be able to:
*
Use a computer and relevant software packages for word processing, data
handling, statistical analysis and information retrieval from various databases.
*
Distinguish between a variety of research approaches and designs and identify
the appropriate methods of statistical analysis.
*
Demonstrate an understanding of issues relating to validity and reliability with
regard to various research designs.
*
Demonstrate an understanding of measures of central tendency, normal
distribution and error variance.
*
Apply their understanding of underlying statistical constructs in the selection of
appropriate statistical methods.
*
Draw accurate conclusions based on the outcome of statistical analyses.
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Content
Word processing; preparation of spreadsheets; use of statistical software packages; info
retrieval; research design; basic statistical techniques; literature searching; referencing.
Teaching and learning methods
The total student effort for this module is 100hours. There are 8 lectures, 9 lab-classes, 3
seminars and 3 tutorials. The remainder of the hours is assigned to independent learning
and preparation for assessments. Students are advised that lab sessions are compulsory
as they form the basis for the coursework task.
Personal transferable skills
1. Enhancing IT skills – including both basic utilisation of word processing/ data
handling software and more advanced training in statistical software packages.
2. Group interactions to develop the ability to critically evaluate literature.
3. Improved appreciation of the scientific method in general
4. Working independently to evaluate specific data sets
Unit structure and timetable
Lectures
3WN 3.7
(Tuesdays 1115; weeks 1-9)
Computer Lab Classes
2E 1.14
(Wednesdays 0915; weeks 2-10, surnames A-O)
OR
CB 5.13
(Wednesdays 1015; weeks 2-10, surnames P-Z)
(n.b. you must seek permission from the unit leader before changing groups)
Seminars/Tutorials
(see below*) (Tuesdays 0915; weeks 4, 5, 7, 8, 10 & 11)
*SEMINARS & TUTORIALS ARE GROUPED ACCORDING TO PERSONAL TUTOR
Personal Tutor
Aki Salo
Carly Mckay
Cassie Wilson
Dario Cazzola
Ezio Preatoni
Fiona Gillison
Grant Trewartha
James Betts
James Turner
Javier Gonzalez
Keith Stokes
Niels Vollaard
Oliver Peacock
Polly McGuigan
Rachel Arnold
Sean Cumming
Thomas Curran
Sean Williams
Post-Graduate
(to be arranged by tutor)
(to be arranged by tutor)
(to be arranged by tutor)
(to be arranged by tutor)
(to be arranged by tutor)
(to be arranged by tutor)
(to be arranged by tutor)
Harriet Carroll
(to be arranged by tutor)
(to be arranged by tutor)
(to be arranged by tutor)
(to be arranged by tutor)
(to be arranged by tutor)
(to be arranged by tutor)
(to be arranged by tutor)
(to be arranged by tutor)
(to be arranged by tutor)
(to be arranged by tutor)
Seminar Room
3E 2.9
Post-Graduates will lead the seminars in weeks 4, 7 & 10 and your personal tutors will
arrange time/place of meetings with you in weeks 5, 8 & 11.
All relevant information pertaining to this unit (e.g. notices, unit structure, lecture slides,
assessment) can also be accessed via the link www.bath.ac.uk/~jb335
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Attendance
Attendance at lecture sessions is optional but is strongly recommended to give you the
best chance of doing well on the unit.
All other classes such as labs, seminars and tutorials are compulsory. If you are unable to
attend due to sudden illness or unexpected circumstances you must e-mail the unit
convenor within 24 hours of missing the session.
Where possible, students with authorised absence will be provided with an alternative
opportunity to complete the lab, or will otherwise be directed to resources to help them to
catch-up on the session missed. Students with unauthorised absences may be asked to
complete additional work. In cases where lab skills form part of the assessment,
unauthorised absence resulting in failure to attempt an assessment will normally result in
the failure of the unit. Multiple unauthorised absences will also normally result in failure of
the unit.
In the case of absence of a longer duration known in advance, you must approach and
obtain permission from the Director of Studies well in advance.
Week
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Date of Lead Lecture
29th September
6th October
13th October
20th October
27th October
3rd November
10th November
17th November
24th November
-
Lecture (Tuesday)
Computer lab (Wednesday)
Scientific Reasoning
No Labs Week 1
Recognising Research
Literature Searching I/Library Catalogue
Descriptive Statistics I
University PCs Microsoft Office I
Descriptive Statistics II
Shared File Area & Microsoft Office II
Reliability and Validity Literature Searching II/Electronic Databases
Measurement Errors
Introduction to SPSS
Mid-Term Test
Descriptive Statistics
Hypothesis Testing
Normal Distribution
Coursework Revision
Inferential Statistics I
Reading Week
Inferential Statistics II
No Lecture Week 11
No Labs Week 11
Seminars/Tutorials (Tuesdays):
Weeks 4 & 5 – Critically Evaluating Scientific Literature
Weeks 7 & 8 – Referencing Styles/Turnitin
Weeks 10 & 11 – Scientific Writing
Reading list:
Greenhalgh. T. (2006) How to Read a Paper: the basics of evidence-based medicine, 5th
edition. Oxford: Blackwell (previous edition BMJ, 2001)
Berg K. E. & Latin R. W. (2008) Essentials of Research Methods in Health, Physical
Education, Exercise Science, and Recreation, 3rd edition. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Thomas J. R. & Nelson J. K. (2005) Research Methods in Physical Activity, 6th edition.
Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics
Vincent W. J. (2005) Statistics in Kinesiology, 4th edition. Champaign, Illinois: Human
Kinetics
Cohen L. & Holliday M. (1996) Practical Statistics for Students. London: P.C.P.
Hopkins W. G. (2000) A New View of Statistics [Online] Auckland: Internet Society for
Sport Science. Available at: www.newstats.org [accessed September 25th 2008]
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Unit assessment:
1. Appropriate attendance at lectures, labs, tutorials and seminars
2. Mid-Term Test (40%)
Week 7 (10th November) A test based on the work covered in the first 6 lectures.
Formative feedback will be provided in class once the test has been marked.
3. Coursework (60%)
An evaluation and analysis of various research scenarios that will be introduced in
week 6 (5th November). This coursework will require both an understanding of the
information delivered during lectures and an application of the practical skills
gained from laboratory classes. Formative feedback will be provided on the
marked coursework sheets you can collect from your tutor.
The project needs to be submitted to the General Office by midday on Thursday
10th December 2015. Your work should be accompanied by the appropriate cover
sheet downloaded from SAMIS (details of how to do this are on the SES hub on
Moodle). Please ensure that you have read and signed the student declaration
before submission."
Note: You must complete all elements of the assessment in order to be able to pass
the unit.
Submission of coursework assignments:
The deadline for all assignments is 12:00 noon on the due date. Assignments
submitted after this time will be marked as late and will incur mark penalties.
Further information on submitting can be accessed at the unit Moodle page.
Submission of coursework for this unit will be electronic only.
(a)
For this unit you must submit an electronic copy via the unit Moodle page. The file must be
a Word document and the file name must be saved in this format:
Unit code_surname_first name.docx
The extension .doc or .docx must be typed and saved into the filename itself as shown
above. This is in order for your assignment to be processed by Turnitin.
After uploading your assignment and pressing ‘Save’, you must click 'Submit' in order that
your work is submitted for marking. You must return to the submission screen to check
your upload has been correctly submitted. It is your responsibility to check that the work
has been submitted successfully, in an uncorrupted format and is showing the filename
(including the extension) in the format specified above.
(b)
For this unit you must submit one electronic copy and one electronic coversheet to Moodle.
Please follow the submission rules below:


All fields of the coversheet (available from the unit Moodle page) must be fully
completed and this must be uploaded to Moodle as a separate file to your
assignment.
Please use your candidate number instead of your name.
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
The documents must be created in Microsoft Word. The filenames must be saved
in this format:
Coversheet:
UNITCODE_CANDIDATE NUMBER_COURSEWORK
NUMBER_COVERSHEET.doc
For example: HL10182_01234_CW1_COVERSHEET.doc
Assignment:
UNITCODE_CANDIDATE NUMBER_COURSEWORK
NUMBER_ASSIGNMENT.doc
For example: HL10182_01234_CW1_ASSIGNMENT.doc




The extension .doc or .docx must be typed and saved into the filename itself as
shown above. This is in order for your assignment to be processed by Turnitin and
for markers to enter feedback using Tracked Changes.
After adding both your coversheet and assignment and pressing ‘Save’, you must
click 'Submit' in order that your work is submitted for marking.
As assignments are submitted anonymously, staff will not be able to identify which
student to contact if there are any problems with your assignment, therefore you
must return to the submission screen to check your upload has been correctly
submitted.
It is your responsibility to check that your work has been submitted successfully, in
an uncorrupted format and is showing the filename (including the extension) in the
format specified above.
Late submission of coursework:
If you submit a piece of work after the submission date (and no extension has been
granted beforehand by the Director of Studies), the maximum mark possible will be the
pass mark (40%). If you submit work more than five working days after the submission
date, you will normally receive a mark of 0 (zero), unless you have been granted an
extension or a panel has agreed that there are Individual Mitigating Circumstances (IMCs),
as outlined below. You do not need to submit an IMC claim if you have already had an
extension approved and submit the work before the approved extended deadline.
Extension for coursework and mitigating circumstances:
Students who wish to apply for extension to coursework deadlines due to mitigating
circumstances are required to complete the standard form (available online or from the
Undergraduate Office, 1WN 3.2) and return it to the Director of Studies in advance of the
deadline.
Support and Special Arrangements
Any students who require special arrangements for assessment or in the provision of
teaching materials should be formally assessed by the Disability Service available in
Student Services at the earliest opportunity. It is recommended that students also make the
unit convenor aware of any agreed allowances at the earliest possible opportunity to
ensure that provision within lectures and/or assessments is made.
Feedback
We aim to provide feedback within three semester weeks of the deadline. You will be
notified by email when this is available. Your marked assignment and feedback will be
provided via Moodle.
Note: All marks are provisional until they have been confirmed by the Boards of Examiners
and published on SAMIS on the Web at the end of each semester.
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