Journal Article Assignment
Select and photocopy a research paper of interest to you which represents work in one of the biological subfields of Kinesiology. Choose the paper from a 1994-1998 issue of one of the following journals:
Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology
International Journal of Sports Medicine
Journal of Applied Biomechanics
Journal of Motor Behaviour
Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy
Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
**Be sure the paper is about a specific research study, and is not a case study or symposium report or review article.**
Until you become familiar with the language of research and of the biological subfields, research articles might be difficult reading. In selecting an article to copy, read only to discover the main idea of the study. Ignore the detail. Once you have made your selection, work through the questions that follow. They should help you get a better understanding of the article and should give you some strategies for understanding research papers you will read in the future.
Include a photocopy of the selected article with this assignment.
The Introduction section of a research article has two purposes. First, it summarizes the most relevant research already completed in the area and second, it states the purpose of the present study.
List the information available from the literature reviewed in the Introduction to your article.
What is the purpose of the study? (ie. What is the question the researcher hopes to answer?)
The description of how the research was conducted is extremely important. This can be found in the Methods section of the article. Research methods used in the biological subfields of Kinesiology can be quite complex, and it is not reasonable to expect to understand the methodological detail of such studies at this point in your degree program. You should, however, be able to comment on the following from your article.
Subjects:
How many?
Male or female?
Age?
Other special characteristics?
Treatment: The 'treatment' is what is done or administered to the subjects, for example a training program, skill test, ingestion of caffeine or participation in a race. Sometimes subjects are divided into a treatment group (which receives the treatment) and a control group (which does not). This is done so that the researcher will be able to say whether or not changes are due to the treatment.
Variables: Variables are the quantities to be measured, for example heart rate, motor ability test score, knee angle or time taken to complete a task.
The remaining sections of the research article present the Results of the study and a Discussion of those results. You should find the answer to the research question posed in the Introduction of the article in these sections of the paper.
What is the answer to the research question posed in the article? (There is rarely a definitive answer - knowledge is gained one small step at a time!)