week 7

Research Synthesis

• Combines findings from multiple studies to answer specific research questions
• Aims to support evidence-based practices, unlike explorative literature reviews
• Has a clear purpose defined before the literature search begins

Meta-Analysis

• Quantitatively combines results from various studies
• Provides a clearer understanding of an effect or research question
• Uses a systematic process with seven steps:
  • Identifying the problem
  • Searching literature
  • Reviewing and including/excluding studies
  • Evaluating and coding studies
  • Calculating effect sizes
  • Applying statistical analysis
  • Reporting findings
• Uses theory and empirical studies to identify important characteristics for coding decisions
• Uses various effect size calculations based on experimental design
• Adjusts effect size values for accuracy
• Tests for homogeneity across studies to determine if standard or rank-order methods for statistical analysis are appropriate

Systematic Reviews

• Comprehensive review of research on a specific topic
• Summarizes and interprets findings from multiple studies
• Follows a structured process:
  • Defining purpose
  • Forming a team
  • Registering review
  • Identification of potential studies
  • Screening for criteria
  • Evaluating eligibility
  • Including final studies
• Uses a flowchart to track steps for clear documentation
• Documents search strategies, exclusions, and final number of included studies

Surveys in Research

• Descriptive research method used to understand current conditions or attitudes
• Used for normative surveys that create standards, such as fitness norms and growth charts

Constructing Questionnaires

• Clearly defining what to measure improves results and data analysis
• Identifying the target population and using sampling methods ensures generalizability
• Tracking respondent numbers and potential sampling error is important
• Open-ended questions allow free responses and insights, but are hard to analyze
• Closed questions offer fixed responses for easier analysis (e.g., rankings, scales, categories)

Best Practices for Questionnaires

• Use clear questions, avoiding ambiguous terms
• Keep questions short
• Frame questions positively and avoid technical jargon
• Stay neutral to avoid bias
• Ensure a clear and professional appearance
• Pilot test the questionnaire on a small group
• Send reminders to increase response rates

Types of Survey Responses

• Ranking items
• Using frequency-based scales
• Likert-type scales for measuring agreement
• Providing yes/no options for categorical responses

Online Surveys

• Use effective survey software and design for easy navigation
• Avoid sensitive or private data due to widespread accessibility

Delphi Method

• Used to reach consensus among experts
• Employs multiple rounds of questionnaires with responses refined each round until agreement is achieved

Interviews

• More adaptable and insightful than surveys
• Offer higher response rates
• Allow for the observation of non-verbal cues, providing richer data

Normative Surveys

• Collects data to establish norms for attributes like abilities or beliefs
• Examples include fitness benchmarks and developmental milestones
• Require large, geographically diverse samples and trained testers
• Difficulty generalizing due to limited measured items