Lecture 8

Question 1

• Researcher is responsible for his/her participants
• Researcher is responsible for his/her own actions and those of any research aides
• Participants must provide informed consent
• Researcher protects participants from harm, danger, and discomfort
• Maintain anonymity and confidentiality
• Participants should not be coerced
• Researcher has responsibility after the investigation is complete to safeguard subject data
• Honest disclosure of results

What are these examples of?

Answer 1

Ethical obligations of research

Question 2

• Textbooks and other secondary sources
• Primary sources
– Look at the most current literature first
• Identify the key words
– Alternate key words
• Check appropriate indexes and databases
• Computer retrieval systems
– e.g. Sport DISCUS, Index Medicus, Medline, PubMed, 
CINAHL, Web of Science
– Boolean logic (and vs. or)
• Search the Internet
– e.g. Google Scholar

What are these examples of?

Answer 2

sources for a literature review

Question 3

(blank)
– Explain the purpose of the review and the how and why of its organization
(blank)
– Should be organized around important topics
– Relevant research must be organized, synthesized, and written in a clear, concise,
and interesting way

Answer 3

introduction

body

Question 4

Using the Boolean operator (blank)/(blank) will narrow your search!

Answer 4

and

or

Question 5

Use a (blank) management tool
• Mendeley
• Microsoft Word
• Refworks
• Endnote
• Reference Manager

Answer 5

reference

Question 6

When writing, two important considerations are (blank)
and completeness
– Various studies should not simply be presented relative to a topic, but rather the theoretical, methodological, and interpretive aspects of the research should be criticised across studies
– You should demonstrate to your readers that you have located, read, and understand the related literature

Answer 6

criticism

Question 7

• “process of systematically examining research evidence to assess its validity, results, and relevance before using it to inform a decision”
• Essential step for putting research into practice
• Helps determine if conclusions should influence practical decision making
• Facilitates evidence-based practice

What is this the definition of?

Answer 7

critical appraisal

Question 8

• Written last, not first
• (blank) of the title:
- Conveys focus of the study
• (blank) with titles:
- Too long or too short
- Useless words

Answer 8

purpose

problems

Question 9

• 1. Motherhood/Intro
• 2. General overview
• 3. Review
• 4. The “but” or “lead-in” statement
• 5. Supporting documentation for “but” statement
• 6. Statement of the problem

What are these the 6 steps of?

Answer 9

introduction

Question 10

• The intent was to investigate the effects of exercise on
blood lipids among college-age females
• This study was designed to determine the relationship
between physical activity levels and fundamental motor
skills of preschool children
• The present study was designed to identify those
characteristics that differentiate students who binge
drink and those that do not
• The goal of the study was to determine is there is a
relationship between self-efficacy and self-reported
alcohol usage among middle-aged adult females

What kind of statements are these?

Answer 10

problem statements

Question 11

• Based on theory or previous research
• State relationship between at least two variables
• Simple and clear statements (no vague terms)
• They are testable
– Variables can be measured
• They can be refuted
– “Yes it occurred” or “no it did not occur”
• Related to available techniques, procedures, statistical analyses

What are these characteristics of?

Answer 11

hypotheses

Question 12

(blank) Hypothesis (H1)
- An “educated guess” or expected result
• Based on theory or previous research
• (blank) or Statistical Hypothesis (H0)
- A hypothesis of “no difference or no relationship”
• Primarily used for statistical testing
• Hypothesize that the independent variable has no effect on the dependent variable
Could hypothesize equivalence between two treatments
• Not usually presented

Answer 12

research

null

Question 13

(blank) definitions describe an observable phenomenon
– E.g. physical activity
• Does it include exercise, occupational activity, housework,
sports, ADL?
– E.g. overweight
• Does it also include those that are obese?
• How is it being defined (BMI, waist circumference, fat
mass etc.)
– E.g. healthy eating
• How do you define it?
• Can mean different things to different people

Answer 13

operational

Question 14

• Why is this study important?
– Sell the story!
• Focus on:
– Contradictory findings
– Gaps in the research
– Contribution to practice
– Generalizability (if applicable)

What is this the definition of?

Answer 14

significance

Question 15

What is the difference between limitations and delimitations?

Answer 15

Delimitations
• Characteristics imposed by the researcher 
– Define the scope of the study 
• Examples
– Number and kinds of participants
– Treatment conditions
– Tests, measures, instruments used
– Type of equipment
– Location, environmental setting
– Type of training (time and duration)

Limitations
• Very similar to delimitations, but tend to focus on potential
weaknesses of the study
– Try to eliminate before study starts
• Examples
– Sampling problems (subject representativeness)
– Uncontrolled factors and extraneous variables
– Faulty research design and techniques
– Reliability and validity of measuring instruments
– Compromises to internal/external validity

Question 16

• Basic, fundamental conditions that must exist in order
for the research to proceed
– Facts/conditions assumed to be true

• (blank’s) can be made about
– The motivation of the subjects
– Whether subjects responded truthfully
– The validity of the measuring instrument
– Whether subjects followed directions correctly

Answer 16

assumptions