Designing and Conducting Research in Health and Human Performance

Tracey D. Matthews, Kimberly T. Kostelis

• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Year: 2011
• ISBN:
  9781118067116
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Public Health, Administration & Care

Designing and Conducting Research in Health and Human Performance shows students how to become effective producers and consumers of health and human performance research. The book provides comprehensive coverage of both quantitative and qualitative research methods and includes step-by-step guidance for writing effective research proposals and theses. In addition, the authors show how to read, assess, interpret, and apply published research and how to conduct basic studies in health, physical education, exercise science, athletic training, and recreation.

Designing and Conducting Research in Health and Human Performance is filled with illustrative examples that emphasize the real-world applications of research methods. Throughout, the authors draw on a variety of examples that were selected because they provide a context to further the understanding of health and human performance research.

Research to Practice examples and Tips are included by the authors to help students better appreciate the book's content. These study aids provide suggestions and additional resources to assist students in understanding the research process. Key Terms, defined and highlighted, enrich each chapter. Chapter Review Questions, designed to help students comprehend and follow best practices in research methods, close each chapter. Online resources and guides developed by the authors to support and enhance students' learning of important research concepts are available.

Part 1

Understanding Important Research Concepts

What is the purpose of understanding research? Why do I need to understand the research process? When will I use research concepts in my profession? Perhaps these are questions that you are asking yourself as you begin your quest into understanding research concepts. We hope that by the end of this section and more so, after reading this book, you will have a greater appreciation for research in general. Research is a challenging topic; we ask you to keep an open mind throughout and experience the research process at least once. Our goal is not to make you a scientific researcher but rather a good consumer of research. We also encourage you to make applications to your area of study, and we hope that through this textbook you gain a better appreciation of why research is important. Consider some of the following scenarios:

You are a health educator, and a parent asks you about a recent health topic, such as the salmonella outbreak with tomatoes in 2008. As a health educator, you need to convey the most accurate and correct information to the parents. You may not know all the answers, so what will you do? Yes, research the topic!

You are a health promotion/wellness coordinator in a corporate setting. Your supervisor has asked you to create a survey regarding client satisfaction with the fitness facility you are managing. How will you create a survey? This book can help you to understand the steps that go into questionnaire development, but you also need to know the content of appropriate items, which involves a review of literature.

You are a personal fitness trainer at a local fitness facility. Many clients have asked you about the latest diets and their credibility. How will you respond to help them make an informed decision? Yes, research the topic!

Finally, you are an athletic trainer, and an athlete has asked you about a new supplement on the market and its effects when training. To provide an informed decision, you need to research the new supplement and provide the athlete with the most accurate and up-to-date information.

We hope that these scenarios have provided you with a basis of why research is important. In Chapter One, you will learn some of the basic concepts of research. We also emphasize the importance of being a good consumer of research, which is relevant to each of these scenarios. Chapter Two continues to cover research concepts by providing an overview of research designs, as well as to introduce the nature of research variables and measurement issues. Both of these chapters provide a strong base for understanding research concepts. Good luck!

Chapter 1

Introduction to Research in Health and Human Performance

What You'll Learn

• How to define research and begin to explore the nature of research
• How the scientific method helps guide the research process
• How the research continuum ranges from applied research in field settings to basic research in laboratory settings

As stated in the Introduction, research is part of our everyday lives. We use research in our personal lives to enhance our decision making and problem solving. For instance, when we are considering purchasing a new car, most of us will take the time to research and define specific criteria we are looking for in our car purchase. Through the information that is gathered, we are able to make an informed decision. Using data from current research to support the situation at hand will enhance our decision-making process. Next time you are having a debate with a friend, add a research claim or identify data to augment your position. Do not worry if you cannot cite the source; most likely your friend will not ask, because it is hard to argue with research claims and data!

Using research within your career is critical to your professional development. The research examples used in the Introduction for the health and human performance fields are good examples of how you may use research methods in your career. Whether you will conduct research or read about research to advance professionally, it is imperative to understand the concepts of research as well as research designs. We hope that you will be able to experience the process so that you will be able to better apply your experience with the sometimes difficult and complex nature of research. Through this textbook, we will guide you through the research process. To begin, we must define research and examine the research continuum.

Defining the Research Process

How do we go about defining research? Think about research as a process that starts with a question and ends with a conclusion. To arrive at the end and have the ability to make a knowledgeable conclusion requires a systematic approach to answering your research question.

Research: a purposeful and systematic approach to problem solving

Consider the health educator scenario again from the Introduction. The salmonella outbreak with tomatoes in 2008 was covered extensively in the media. As a health educator, it is your professional responsibility to recognize that the reported information may be compelling but not always totally accurate or complete. Relying solely on mass media information is not recommended, especially those convincing and persuasive headlines. Furthermore, it is your responsibility to determine what information is truthful and how you will present and inform parents in your school system about this outbreak. As a health educator, you should use more accurate resources, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). When turning to more scientific resources in an attempt to provide accurate information, you need to remember that you are presenting this information to individuals without your content knowledge base. Therefore, you must be able to communicate clearly in such a manner that your audience will understand the information. With your education and training thus far, combined with the help of this textbook, you will know where to look for reliable resources, how to interpret information, and how best to communicate that information to others. With practice, sorting and filtering mass media information and reviewing scientific research will become easier, and you will be able to carefully and systematically report the needed information accurately to your audience.

Research to Practice: Flawed Method May Underestimate Childhood Obesity

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) publishes a weekly bulletin titled Sports Medicine Bulletin. In the September 14, 2010 issue, Daniel O'Connor reported that the parent-reported values for children's height and weight that are used to identify obesity rates in the United States may be inaccurate. O'Connor examined data from clinics and found that parents tended to underreport weight and overreport height. With this information, it was noted that the data that we obtain from parents may not be reliable and that these errors affect the calculation of body mass index (BMI) that is used to identify obesity rates. O'Connor concluded that BMI may not be a good indicator of obesity, and new measures should be considered to provide a more accurate depiction of obesity rates.

O'Connor, D. P. (2010, September 14). Active voice: Flawed method may underestimate childhood obesity. Sports Medicine Bulletin. Retrieved from www.multibriefs.com/briefs/acsm/active9–14.htm

Because the health and human performance fields are service-based professions, we need to stay current with new developments in our disciplines. It is our professional responsibility to stay current and be able to communicate ongoing changes within our fields to our clients. For example, in 2007, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and American Heart Association (AHA) announced recommendations on physical activity and public health (Haskell et al. 2007). Updates are continually being made with regard to dosage, intensity, frequency, and duration of physical activity. In fact, in 2008, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (www.health.gov/paguidelines). In 2010, First Lady Michelle Obama introduced the Let's Move initiative and renamed the President's Council on Fitness and Sports to the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition to provide a broader perspective of health initiatives for Americans. Staying informed and being a good consumer of research will assist you in informing clients and keeping you up to date on current trends. Continuing to read, interpret, and communicate scientific information will become easier with practice, as will further understanding of the research process.

Scientific Method

Remember, research is a purposeful and systematic process to problem solving. Understanding how to communicate research findings to ind...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Tables and Figures
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• The Authors
• Dedication
• Part 1: Understanding Important Research Concepts
• Part 2: Reviewing the Literature
• Part 3: Understanding and Developing Research Designs
• Part 4: Exploring Measurement and Analysis
• Part 5: Putting It All Together
• Glossary
• References
• Index