Introduction to Research Methods in Human Kinetics

Code: DES14948L

3 ECTS

Duration: 15 weeks/78 hours

Scientific Area: Human Kinetics

Teaching languages: Portuguese

Languages of tutoring support: Portuguese, Spanish

Regime de Frequência: Presencial

Sustainable Development Goals

3. Saúde de qualidade - Assegurar uma vida saudável e promover o bem-estar para todos, em todas as idades.

4. Educação de qualidade - Assegurar a educação inclusiva, e equitativa e de qualidade, e promover oportunidades de aprendizagem ao longo da vida para todos.

Learning Goals

1. identify the phases and stages of research, and types of studies.
2. Recognise ethical issues in research
3. Identify the study problem and recognise the basic strategies for searching the literature.
4. Adequately organise the research methodology.
5. Reproduce the structure of the research project, classic dissertation and article
6. Use the SPSS statistical programme, applying different parametric and non-parametric techniques in data analysis.

1 Introduction to research in Human Motricity: concept of research, phases and stages of research, scientific method, and types of studies. 2 Ethical issues in research: areas of scientific dishonesty, copyright, protection of subjects. 3. development of the study problem: identification of the study problem, objectives of the literature review, basic literature search strategies. 4. formulation of the method: importance of planning the method, description of the subjects, instruments, procedures and analyses. 5. writing and presentation of research work: research project, thesis/dissertation and scientific article. 6. introduction to the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS): information on SPSS, building a database, selecting the analysis procedure, results file. conditions of applicability of parametric tests, application of parametric tests or, alternatively, non-parametric tests.

Teaching Methods

We advocate teaching centred on student learning and learning centred on the development of competences. In the theoretical component, the content will be approached through a participatory presentation by the students. In the theoretical-practical component, students apply the theory presented in the lectures to identify a study problem, search for scientific literature or create a database, following ethical considerations in research. Students actively participate in the preparation and execution of group work. The use of digital resources as tools to promote learning will be important in order to create a database using SPSS software and then analyse it, either in or in independent work. Digital resources will also be used to manage communication through the Moodle platform, which is used to organise and make available materials relating to the teaching and learning process.

Assessment

Assessment will be centred on the self-regulation of students' learning, where they receive feedback on their performance at different times throughout the lessons, developing the capacity for self-regulation in order to improve their work. In continuous assessment, students will be admitted if they attend 75% of the theoretical-practical (TP) classes. Students must have a mark of 10 or more in all practical work (50%) and attendance (50%). Students who attend 75% of the time but score less than 10 in any of the practical assignments and/or lectures will be admitted to the final exam and must take a written theory test (50%) and submit a practical report (50%). Students who obtain a mark of less than 10 in the continuous assessment process or by final exam must take the appeal exam (written theory test - 50% - and practical report - 50% -).