Overview

This unit introduces students to quantitative and qualitative research design, ethical conduct and statistical analysis used in the exercise and sport science fields. Students will search for literature and critically appraise the quality of the scientific literature to inform evidence-based practice in the exercise and sport science industry. Students will use computer software packages to undertake and report on statistical analysis.

Requisites

Teaching periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date
Semester 2
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
04-August-2025
02-November-2025
Last self-enrolment date
17-August-2025
Census date
31-August-2025
Last withdraw without fail date
19-September-2025
Results released date
09-December-2025
Semester 2
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
03-August-2026
01-November-2026
Last self-enrolment date
16-August-2026
Census date
01-September-2026
Last withdraw without fail date
22-September-2026
Results released date
08-December-2026

Unit learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
 

  1. Describe the types and applications of qualitative and quantitative research designs
  2. Differentiate between higher and lower quality sources of information to inform evidence-based practice
  3. Use the primary databases to access peer-reviewed scientific literature and conduct searches to identify relevant information
  4. Critically appraise research methodology and reports, including statistical results and ethical aspects of research
  5. Cite the research of others appropriately in written work
  6. Perform relevant statistical analyses and interpret results

Teaching methods

Hawthorn

Activity Type Activity Total Hours Number of Weeks Hours Per Week Venue Type and Activity Detail
Online Lecture 12 12 weeks 1 Recorded lectures, working through examples of research design, data analyses, literature searching & reviews, and issues relating to research/data collection, such as the quality/level of evidence and ethical considerations.
On-campus Class 24 12 weeks 2 Supervised working through examples of literature searching, data collection, data analyses and reporting.
Specified Activities Various 60 12 weeks 5 Readings, Workshop tasks, Lectures, Practical exercise and online learning tasks, Data collection and analysis, Reading
Unspecified Activities Independent Learning 54 12 weeks 4.5 Assignment preparation, Examination preparation, Workshop preparation, Reading
Total Hours: 150 Total Hours (per week): 12.5  

Assessment

Type Task Weighting ULO's
Assignment Individual  30%  2,3,4,5,6 
Class Exercises Individual  30%  6 
Examination Individual  40%  1,2,4 

Content

  • Database searching and interpretation of literature
  • Critical appraisal and scientific writing
  • Review,  analyse,  interpret information
  • Citation of literature
  • Research ethics
  • Perform statistical tests and interpret data
  • Contextualisation of knowledge to exercise and sports science
  • Graduate Attribute 2 (Communication 2 - Communicating using different media)
  • Graduate Attribute 5 (Digital Literacies 1 - Information literacy)
  • Graduate Attribute 6 (Digital Literacies 2 - Technical literacy)

Study resources

Reading materials

A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.