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In this module you will learn about the process of knowledge construction and evaluation in contemporary sport and exercise science. You will examine a range of epistemological approaches and explore the philosophical implications of adopting different methods of constructing knowledge. You will look at issues around research design, including an examination of ethical and governance issues. You will critically examine the methods by which research is conducted, looking at the internationally accepted guidelines for randomised controlled trials and other prominent methodologies in the sport and exercise science literature. You will examine the contemporary debates around null-hypothesis significance testing (NHST) and magnitude based statistics and also examine the anticipated development of data synthesis techniques.
Sport and exercise science is also an applied endeavor and students need to be capable of effectively disseminating complex technical data to a lay audience.
During hands on laboratory sessions you will use the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) and learn how to make decisions about the use of appropriate statistical tests and how to interpret the analysis outputs.

Upon completion of this module you will be able to:
LO1: Summarise the philosophical basis of scientific knowledge construction in the context of sport, health and exercise.
LO2: Critically analyse methodological issues in research design.
LO3: Accurately conduct and interpret a range of quantitative techniques in relation to sport, health and exercise data sets.
LO4: Use appropriate approaches to data reduction and synthesis required in different scientific fields i.e. biomechanics, physiology, psychology etc.
LO5: Interpret technical data and statistical outcomes and be able to communicate these to lay audiences (health and sports professionals, patients, athletes, public members etc).