Exam 6: Evaluating the Merits of Quantitative Research Studies in Kinesiology

The CONSORT 2010 statement was developed to assist researchers and readers with which of the following?

What type of validity is best represented in the following example? Dr) Piper is conducting a research study that examines the relationship between height and bone fracture occurrences over 35 years. Dr. Piper measures adolescents' sitting height at age 15, and has them report number of annual bone fractures for the next 35 years. In his previous longitudinal research studies, Dr. Piper found that sitting height in adolescence is predictive of actual height in adulthood, so he is confident that by using sitting height at age 15 he has an adequate measure of the participants' actual height when they are 50 years old.

Dr. Ferguson is conducting a research study on the effects of a vegetarian diet on women exercisers' body image. After completing her study, Dr. Ferguson is concerned that the improvements in women exercisers' body image may actually be due to the social support they received from the other study participants rather than the vegetarian diet. Dr. Ferguson's concern represents a threat to what type of validity?

What type of validity used to evaluate the merits of experimental research studies most closely aligns with the concept of generalizability, the latter of which can be used to evaluate the merits of non-experimental research studies?

What is a "WEIRD" sample, and why is a reliance on WEIRD samples a potential concern to researchers in kinesiology?

What is the one of the most effective strategies to increase the external validity of a research study in kinesiology?

A researcher was interested in studying the effects of 60 minutes of flexibility training per day on enjoyment of exercise. To recruit participants she put up a poster in the university fitness centre; thirty women subsequently volunteered for her study. Her research design included a pre-test of enjoyment of exercise followed by her intervention in which she asked all participants to participate in a three month long flexibility training program (i.e., each participant completed the 60 minutes of flexibility training on her own in the fitness centre after her regular workout each day). At the end of the training program, twenty-six participants completed a post-test of enjoyment of exercise (four participants dropped out of the study half-way through due to the time commitment required). Based on the changes between the pre-test and post-test on participants' enjoyment scores, the researcher concluded that 60 minutes per day of flexibility training was effective in increasing enjoyment of exercise. Based on the research design described, is the researcher's conclusion justified? Clearly justify your answer with particular reference to internal validity and external validity.

How do we know if a measure of a construct is reliable and valid?

In yesterday's class lecture, Dr. Walker highlighted his previous experimental studies showing that an individual's work satisfaction is more important than her or his leisure satisfaction in explaining general life satisfaction. He also stated that the findings come from studies he conducted in the early 1980s in the United States. What type of validity is specifically at risk if Dr. Walker interpreted the findings from his studies as applying to today's context?

There can be contradictory evidence found across different research studies when looking at group differences as evidence of construct validity.

What is required in order to evaluate the internal validity of a study?

If a particular exercise training intervention only works with a very specific sample under very specific laboratory conditions, the internal validity would necessarily be very low.

Which of the following statements is true?

What are two key features of true experimental designs?

What type of validity is most threatened by a reliance on WEIRD samples to conduct research?

Which of the following statements is true?

One of the best ways to establish the construct validity of a new measure is to test its relation with other existing measures of the same construct.

What type of validity refers to the extent to which a researcher's claim that any change in an outcome is a result of her or his intervention and not the result of other factors?