ISSN: 1543-9518|Vol. 24

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So far Vandy Pacetti-Donelson has created 35 blog entries.

Impact of statistical significance and sample size on conclusions in sports science research – an analysis on the example of the relative age effect

Authors: Ib K. Keune

1Department of Sport Science, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, GER

Corresponding Author:

Ib K. Keune, M.Ed., PT
Philippstraße 13
10115 Berlin
[email protected]
017681194891

Ib K. Keune is sport sociology doctoral student at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. His areas of research interest include the relative age effect in sports and its interaction with factors of social inequality, statistics and methods in sport research, and applied ethics in sports.

Impact of statistical significance and sample size on conclusions in sports science research – an analysis on the example of the relative age effect

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The null hypothesis significance test (NHST) is a commonly applied statistical method for detecting effects in science, despite it being repeatedly criticized. Detractors argue that by focusing exclusively on NHST results, scientists fail to consider descriptive results, potentially leading to misinformed policy makers. They also point out that the influence of sample size on statistical power is often overlooked. This paper investigates whether this critique holds true in sport science research by analyzing the conclusions in publications about the relative age effect (RAE) – an effect manifested in biased birth date patterns. Method: In an extensive content analysis, 7,247 samples listed in 647 sources were recorded and analyzed using binary logistic regression. Results: Findings show discrepancies between NHST results and birth patterns. Authors in RAE research rely more heavily on NHST results than on birth patterns to draw their conclusions regarding the presence of a RAE. In addition, findings indicate that NHST results are influenced by sample size, birth pattern, and the interaction of both. This interaction leads to a RAE more often being suspected in large samples than small samples, even though birth patterns are more evenly distributed in large samples. Conclusion: As large samples are more likely to represent recreational sport and small samples are more likely to represent elite sport, the strong orientation towards NHST results for conclusions can lead to misinformation about the location of substantial RAEs. Applications in Sport: Similar reliance on NHST results and potential misinformation are also to be expected in other topics in sport research, where characteristics like elite status tend to accumulate in certain sample sizes. Decision-makers in sport should contextualize research findings. Researchers should use NHST appropriately and carefully and combine it with other statistical measures.Key Words: null hypothesis significance testing, birthdate effect, metascience

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2023-10-03T13:40:10-05:00October 6th, 2023|Research, Sports Management|Comments Off on Impact of statistical significance and sample size on conclusions in sports science research – an analysis on the example of the relative age effect
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Affective Forecasting and Social Physique Anxiety among Female Athletes: A Pilot Study

Authors: Jessica Wolverton1 & Urska Dobersek2  

1Athletics Department, McDaniel College, Westminster, USA; 2Department of Psychology, University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, IN USA

Corresponding Author:

Jessica Wolverton, M.S.
2 College Hill Westminster, MD 21157
[email protected]
410-857-2566

Jessica Wolverton, MS is a former collegiate volleyball coach and a current collegiate athletics administrator. Her research focus includes well-being, mental health resourcing, and programming for student-athletes.
Urska Dobersek, Ph.D., CMPC is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Southern Indiana. Her research interests include individuals’ identities, objectification of women, sexual and mate selection, and diet and mental health

Affective Forecasting and Social Physique Anxiety among Female Athletes: A Pilot Study

ABSTRACT

While people make affective forecasts every day, they overestimate the impact of future events on their emotional states — displaying an impact bias. Comparatively few studies examined athletes’ accuracy of specific emotions in aesthetic sports. To remedy this gap, we explored predicted social physique anxiety and self-presentational concerns in an experimental analysis of 156 female collegiate volleyball players between 18 and 23 years of age. Athletes completed a Demographic Questionnaire and the Trait Anxiety Inventory before being randomly assigned to one of the four experimental conditions (i.e., control, practice, intersquad scrimmage game, or heavy spectator game). After the manipulation, their social physique anxiety levels and self-presentational concerns in sport were assessed. A one-way Analysis of Variance revealed significant differences among the conditions on social physique anxiety, F(3, 152) = 4.70, p = .004, h2 = .09. Specifically, Tukey HSD post-hoc test revealed that athletes in the control condition scored higher on social physique anxiety (M = 2.74, SD = 0.71) compared with intersquad scrimmage game condition (M = 2.15, SD = 0.70), p < .01, d = .83. No other significant differences were observed. Contrary to prior literature, athletes overestimated their forecasted anxiety in the control group and underestimated their forecasted social physique anxiety levels in a game closed to large crowds. Our study extends previous work on affective forecasting, and more importantly, provides additional information on specific emotions in aesthetic sports. Our findings suggest that coaches and sport psychology consultants could potentially reduce athletes’ social physique anxiety and self-presentational concerns by channeling their attention to the task at hand.

Key Words: affective forecasting, social physique anxiety, self-presentational concerns, pilot study

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2023-09-27T11:50:12-05:00September 29th, 2023|Research, Sports Coaching, Sports Health & Fitness, Women and Sports|Comments Off on Affective Forecasting and Social Physique Anxiety among Female Athletes: A Pilot Study
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Increased Exposure to Women in Sport Increases Familiarity and Liking

Authors: Beth Dietz

Department of Psychology, Miami University, Middletown, Ohio, US

Corresponding Author:

Beth Dietz
Department of Psychology, Miami University
Middletown, OH 45044
[email protected]

Dr. Beth Dietz is a professor of psychology at Miami University. Her research interests include social identity, sport fans and spectators, women in sport, and the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Increased Exposure to Women in Sport Increases Familiarity and Liking

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The quantity of media coverage of sports played by females has not achieved parity with coverage of sports played by males. Additionally, coverage of sport played by females is often regarded as boring, uninteresting, and bland. The current study tests the hypothesis that as exposure to sport and gender increases, so will liking. Methods: Participants completed measures of familiarity, liking, and knowledge before and after a course on Sport and Gender. Results: The results showed increases over time in liking-to-watch, frequency-of-watching, knowledge of and familiarity with sport played by women (results also showed increases for neutral sports and sports played by males). Conclusions: These results suggest that repeated exposure to sports played by females leads to greater liking and interest. Applications: Increasing exposure to sports played by females in the media and in classrooms will lead to increased liking of, and likely demand, for sports played by females.

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2023-09-22T13:09:26-05:00September 22nd, 2023|Research, Sports History, Sports Marketing, Women and Sports|Comments Off on Increased Exposure to Women in Sport Increases Familiarity and Liking
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Understanding written message framing, motivation, and performance in competitive cyclists

Authors:1Kimberly S. Fasczewski, 1Paige N. Bramblett, 1Landry K. Bobo,  2James Peterman, 1R. Andrew Shanely

1Department of Public Health and Exercise Science, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, USA

2Fisher Institute of Health, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, USA

Correspondence:

Kimberly S. Fasczewski, PhD.
Department of Public Health and Exercise Science
Beaver College of Health Sciences, 1179 State Farm Rd
Boone, NC 28608-207
Phone: 828-262-7987
[email protected]

Understanding written message framing, motivation, and performance in competitive cyclists

Abstract

Purpose: An athlete’s motivation and sport performance is impacted by their environment, including the interpersonal relationship between athlete and coach. What messages the coach conveys, and how those messages are received, can impact performance. Conveying messages via controlling message framing (dictating goals and outcomes) or informational/supportive message framing (providing information and recognizing effort) may impact the athlete’s perceptions of the environment and alter motivation, thus impacting performance. Endurance sports, such as cycling, require high amounts of self-determined motivation due to the duration and solo nature of training. Often the primary interaction with the coach is through online written communication. As such, the goal of this study was to explore the impact of written forms of controlling and informational/supportive message framing on motivation and performance in trained cyclists. Methods: Using a crossover design, 11 amateur competitive cyclists (9 Male, 2 Female; age 43.6 ± 10.3 years) were randomly assigned a written training protocol containing either controlling or informational/supportive messages and describing a specific workout with a goal of participation to exhaustion. Perceived competence, perceived autonomy, motivation, and performance (time to exhaustion) were measured for each trial. Results: No significant differences were found in perceived competence, perceived autonomy, motivation, or performance between controlling or informational/supportive conditions. There was a significant correlation between pre-task competence valuation and post-task perceived competence (r = -0.738), and autonomous motivation and time-to-exhaustion (r = -0.674) in the controlling condition. Additionally, a significant correlation was seen between perceived competence and perceived autonomy (r = 0.666) in the informational/supportive condition. Conclusions: A relationship does exist between written message framing and motivation. Motivation and performance may be increased by using informational/supportive messages in written communication with athletes. Application in Sport: Coaches must be aware of the impact communication has on athletes even when using online platforms. These interactions should be considered an important part of the coach-athlete relationship. For optimal athlete motivation and performance, coaches should focus on creating well-designed workouts that include detailed written information using supportive wording.

Keywords: (coaching, endurance athletes, online, Self-Determination Theory, cycling)

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2023-09-13T14:18:59-05:00September 15th, 2023|Research, Sports Health & Fitness|Comments Off on Understanding written message framing, motivation, and performance in competitive cyclists
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Purposeful Practice: Constraints and Temperament Impact on Physical Performance of Collegiate Division II Soccer Athletes

Authors: Timothy Hinchman1, Carrie D. Taylor2, Eric J. Lange3, and Michael Meachum4

1 Department of Curriculum and Learning.  Midwestern State University, Wichita Fall, Texas, USA

2 Department of Counseling, Kinesiology, and Special Education, Midwestern State University, Wichita Fall, Texas, USA

3 Life Sciences Department, Tulsa Community College, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

4 Athletic Department, Midwestern State University, Wichita Fall, Texas, USA

Correspondence:

Timothy Hinchman
Midwestern State University
Gordon T. & Ellen West College of Education
3410 Taft Boulevard, Bridwell Hall, Office 330
Wichita Falls, Texas 76308-2099.
[email protected]

Dr. Timothy Hinchman is an Assistant Professor at MSU-Texas, where he has been since 2019. He imparts Science and Social Studies Methodology knowledge to aspiring elementary teachers. With an Ed.D. from the University of West Florida and academic roots in Florida State University, he brings a wealth of expertise. Dr. Hinchman’s interests focus on using constraints for increased productivity and creativity. He’s pioneering designed constraints to enhance NCAA Division II athletes’ performance. Collaborative across various fields, including education and art, his emphasis is on STEM/STEAM. Beyond academia, Dr. Hinchman’s passion for Batman and comic books shines. His goal is to present research at a major Comic-Con event. This reflects his dedication to education and diverse pursuits.

Purposeful Practice: Constraints and Temperament Impact on Physical Performance of Collegiate Division II Soccer Athletes

Abstract

This quantitative quasi-experimental study examined differences in mean and median differences of millennial soccer athlete’s performance.  Research indicates that millennials struggle with complex tasks due to their fear of failure. Individual productivity has been shown to be positively influenced by the use of designed constraints. The study employed the C-BMN framework and the GPAI to analyze data pertaining to constraint-type and its influence on the productivity of 18 soccer players.  Individual components teamwork and trapping showed statistical significance during the intervention, while positioning, passing, and dribbling did not.  The overall GPAI showed statistical significance between the control and both constraint types.  A two-mixed ANOVA showed no statistically significant interaction between constraints and temperaments however only 72% of participants completed the temperament assessment. 

Keywords:  Constraints, Temperament, Physical Performance, GPAI

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2023-09-08T11:01:36-05:00September 8th, 2023|Research, Sports Exercise Science, Sports Health & Fitness|Comments Off on Purposeful Practice: Constraints and Temperament Impact on Physical Performance of Collegiate Division II Soccer Athletes
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