This paper presents a brief overview of some of the major issues associated with research design in experimental gerontology. The intention is not to provide a comprehensive and detailed guide to experimental design and research methods. Rather, the paper focuses on a more general discussion of several issues associated with the design, implementation, and interpretation of research in an attempt to illustrate why a rudimentary knowledge of these topics is essential for all researchers and practitioners involved in the study of the aging process. Wherever possible, specific examples from the exercise science and applied health literature are selected in order to illustrate the significance of these factors for our field of expertise.
Search Results
Wojtek J. Chodzko-Zajko
Jakob Tarp, Lars B. Andersen, and Lars Østergaard
Background:
Cycling to and from school is an important source of physical activity (PA) in youth but it is not captured by the dominant objective method to quantify PA. The aim of this study was to quantify the underestimation of objectively assessed PA caused by cycling when using accelerometry.
Methods:
Participants were 20 children aged 11 to 14 years from a randomized controlled trial performed in 2011. Physical activity was assessed by accelerometry with the addition of heart rate monitoring during cycling to school. Global positioning system (GPS) was used to identify periods of cycling to school.
Results:
Mean minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during round-trip commutes was 10.8 (95% CI: 7.1−16.6). Each kilometer of cycling meant an underestimation of 9314 (95% CI: 7719−11238) counts and 2.7 (95% CI: 2.1−3.5) minutes of MVPA. Adjusting for cycling to school increased estimates of MVPA/day by 6.0 (95% CI: 3.8−9.6) minutes.
Conclusions:
Cycling to and from school contribute substantially to levels of MVPA and to mean counts/min in children. This was not collected by accelerometers. Using distance to school in conjunction with self-reported cycling to school may be a simple tool to improve the methodology.
Katherine Sveinson, Larena Hoeber, and Caroline Heffernan
Recent years have yielded a call for more diverse methodological approaches in studying sport management ( Hoeber & Shaw, 2017 ; Shaw & Hoeber, 2016 ; Singer et al. 2019 ). Many panels and presentations at conferences, and special journal issues (see Sport Management Review , 2017, volume 20
Emma S. Cowley, Alyssa A. Olenick, Kelly L. McNulty, and Emma Z. Ross
al., 2021 ), and to clarify methods to assist researchers in including women as participants ( Elliott-Sale et al., 2021 ; Janse de Jonge et al., 2019 ; Sims & Heather, 2018 ). The recent demand for, interest in, and methodological support for, high-quality women-specific sport and exercise science data
Tiffany Demiris and Chad Seifried
team-teaching efforts generally focus on the dominant methodologies (i.e., quantitative and qualitative methods) that receive the most attention from sport management researchers and less on other approaches ( Nite & Singer, 2013 ). Many programs may also supplement gaps in their research methods
Israel Halperin, Andrew D. Vigotsky, Carl Foster, and David B. Pyne
constant growth of exercise and sport sciences, there are a number of methodological problems concerning common research designs and practices that hinder the impact of research. These problems include but are not limited to inadequate validation of surrogate outcomes, too few longitudinal and replication
Marcus J. Brown, Laura A. Hutchinson, Michael J. Rainbow, Kevin J. Deluzio, and Alan R. De Asha
affect outcome measures related to walking speed variability. This finding contradicts that of Paterson et al, 5 who reported increased variability for young and older adult females during discrete trials compared to continuous walking. Other than the different experimental methodologies in the
Cody J. O’Grady, Jordan L. Fox, Daniele Conte, Davide Ferioli, Aaron T. Scanlan, and Vincent J. Dalbo
Games-based drills, also known as games-based training or small-sided games, are an effective sport-specific training methodology frequently used by basketball coaches. In fact, games-based drills are the predominant form of training adopted during basketball practice, with basketball coaches using
Kimberly A. Clevenger, Jan Christian Brønd, Daniel Arvidsson, Alexander H.K. Montoye, Kelly A. Mackintosh, Melitta A. McNarry, and Karin A. Pfeiffer
-intensity activity. Therefore, the actual impact of sampling rate on measures of habitual physical activity remains to be elucidated, particularly in adults. Understanding the effect of sampling rate on habitual physical activity measurement is important given that this information informs methodological decisions
Andrea Torres, Bethany Tennant, Isabela Ribeiro-Lucas, Alison Vaux-Bjerke, Katrina Piercy, and Bonny Bloodgood
training and quality control (QC) staff, librarians, abstractors, triage staff, and systematic review liaisons, who were responsible for working with the committee. The purpose of this paper is to describe the systematic methodology used by the committee to develop the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines
