Teaching Research Methodology Through Participation in a Collaborative Research Project

1. Teaching Research Methodology Through Participation in a Collaborative Research Project Kevin E. Finn, MA, ATC, CSCS Jay Campisi, Ph.D. Merrimack College Department of Health Sciences North Andover, MA

2. Background • Our presentation describes a project designed to expose first-year undergraduate sports medicine majors enrolled in a Research Methods course to an active, collaborative-based research experiment on campus • Our goal was to teach research methods by doing research methods • We assessed if incorporating an experiential learning component to our course was effective

3. Evidence in Support of Experiential Learning • The educational literature demonstrates that experiential learning benefits the academic development of students • Harkness (2007) reported that students who participated in a research methods experiential learning project received significantly higher grades and evidence of greater content knowledge than students who did not engage in experiential learning

4. Course Previously Taught with Traditional Lecture-based Approach • The Research Methods course had previously been taught in a lecture based pedagogical approach • Students were required to read peer reviewed journal articles and understand the major concepts of research methodology

5. Potential Benefits of Adding Experiential Learning to the Course • One way to capture the undergraduate attention is by actively involving students in research methodology and mentoring them throughout the process • Learning by doing • We believe this pedagogical approach creates a culture of ownership over the research process and excites students as they engage in the collaborative experiential learning process

6. Potential Benefits of Adding Experiential Learning to the Course • Many of the components of the research process, such as developing a hypothesis and designing an experiment, require analytical thinking • Research process inherently is a collaborative process • Therefore, we believed the project would foster critical thinking and communication skills

7. Potential Benefits of Adding Experiential Learning to the Course • We believed that incorporating a participatory, collaborative and experiential learning component to this course would: • Allow students to grasp relevant research methodology theories and principles • Acquire increased appreciation for the value of research methodology and the scientific process • Develop interpersonal and professional skills through group work/interactions

8. Research Questions 1.) What are the effects of a collaborative and experiential teaching approach on students’ knowledge of research methodology? 2.) What are the effects of collaborative and experiential learning project on the students’ attitudes of sports medicine research? 3.) What were the students perceptions of group work?

9. Experimental Procedure

10. Group Hypothesis Development Activity • Break up into groups of (max 4/group) to choose a topic (Blood Pressure or Body Composition) that you want to investigate • Develop a research question and/or hypothesis • Example: Do males have a higher blood pressure than females?

11. Assessment Tools • Pre and Post-course Attitude Survey • Pre and Post-course Knowledge Test • Group Work Attitude Survey • Open Ended Questionnaire • In-depth Interviews

12. Attitudes of Students Toward Research Methods • Students filled out attitude survey on first and last day of class anonymously • Survey adapted from Vodopivec et al. (2002) used Likert scale (1-5) to examine 45 statements related to research methods and science

13. Attitudes of Students Toward Research Methods • Students initial (pre-course) views regarding research were generally positive • Students answered in a “positive” manner on 38 out of 45 statements (84%) • Agreed with positive statements (>3-5) • Disagreed with negative statements (<3-1)

14. “Positive Responses” Pre-Course Mean ± SD Numbers indicate answers on Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree)

15. Attitudes of Students Toward Research Methods Students initial (pre-course) “negative” views largely changed over the course of the semester Numbers indicate answers on Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) • *p ≤ 0.05

16. Students’ Knowledge About Research Methods • A 30 question multiple choice knowledge test was administered on the first and last day of class • Test did not count towards grade in course • Knowledge test asked about the basic principles of scientific research including research process, methods and basic statistics

17. Students’ Knowledge About Research Methods • Students’ knowledge of scientific research prior to taking the course was poor • Out of 30 questions, class averaged 15.9 ± 2.9 correct answers (56.7%) • 2 questions were dropped from analysis because overwhelming majority of class got them wrong on the pre and post-test

18. Students’ Knowledge About Research Methods Students’ knowledge increased over the course of the semester; however, post-test scores remained relatively low • * • * • *p ≤ 0.05 relative to pre-test score

19. Students’ Knowledge About Research Methods • * • *p ≤ 0.05

20. Students filled out group work attitude survey adapted from Garcia-Boyonas et al. (2008) on last day of class anonymously Participants completed a Likert attitude scale (1-5) and also selected the positive and negative aspects of group work Attitudes of Students Toward Group Work

21. Students answered in a “positive” manner on ALL 9 statements about group work (100%) Agreed with positive statements (>3-5) Disagreed with negative statements (<3-1) Attitudes of Students Toward Group Work

22. Attitudes of Students Toward Group Work

23. Attitudes of Students Toward Group Work Positive Aspects A. Can generate more ideas B. Learn how to work with others C. More heads are better than one D. Develop relationship with others E. Learn more of the class material F. It increases my self esteem G. Forced to meet classmates H. Learn more about myself I. I have a deeper understanding of the course content J. I have a greater sense of acceptance by my classmates K. Develop a positive attitude toward the course instructor L. Develop a positive attitude toward college M. Less work for me N. NONE

24. Attitudes of Students Toward Group Work Top Three Positive Aspects of Group Work Can generate more ideas Learn how to work with others More heads are better than one

25. Attitudes of Students Toward Group Work

26. Attitudes of Students Toward Group Work Negative Aspects A. Difficult to coordinate schedules B. Difficult for all members to participate equally C. Free riders or slackers D. Would rather work alone E. We don't all think the same F. Do not like people to depend on me G. Can't develop own ideas H. See no sense of "self" in final project I. Don't like being responsible for my classmates grade J. Members do not share same grade expectation K. Disagreements are more likely to happen in groups L. Groups are just a way for teachers to do less work M. Working with others makes me feel less intelligent N. It's more work O. Instructors assign group work without enough expectation P. NONE

27. Top Three Negative Aspects of Group Work Difficult to coordinate schedules Difficult for all members to participate equally Free riders or slackers Attitudes of Students Toward Group Work

28. Attitudes of Students Toward Group Work

29. Students’ Open Ended Responses about Project • Students filled out a 5 question open ended survey that assessed their general feedback on the research project • The questions assessed students’ positive and negative aspects of the project, suggestions for what to keep in project and recommendations for improvements

30. Students’ Open Ended Responses

31. Student Interviews • In- depth interviews were conducted with 5 students during finals exams week • Students were selected by % change from pre to post-course knowledge test • Questions covered in the interviews ranged from topics about the overall project, research process, and group work/interaction

32. Student Interviews: Overall Thoughts • Student # 1—“I understand that it is important to have questions and question why things are done because through research we can find better ways to treat injuries that could be quicker or more beneficial for the patient.” • Student #2—“With any health care field we would go into comes the need for research and the knowledge in this class will carry on with me.”

33. Student Interviews: Research Process • Student #1—“Doing the data collection helped to show how researchers in the field actually do their projects. And the methods also helped because it showed how things are done in real world research projects.” • Student #3—“Going through the process of finding subjects, creating a survey, and having them sign informed consent was a hassle but it was overall a good learning experience.”

34. Student Interviews: Group Interaction/Work • Student #3—“I learned that patience, cooperation and communication are key to group work. Everyone needs to be responsible or it is hard to distribute the work equally.” • Student #4—“It was a good way to interact with various members on campus and apply our skills, but time was very constrained as far as collecting data.”

35. Conclusions • Students’ initial (pre-course) views regarding research were generally positive; Students initial (pre-course) “negative” views largely changed over the course of the semester • Students’ initial knowledge or research methods was poor but increased over the course of the semester • Need to examine how knowledge gain compares with previous non-experiential learning years • Students expressed an overall “positive” attitude toward group work; Most negative views were around planning and scheduling • When incorporating group projects, instructors should take these attitudes into consideration • Open ended/Interviews reinforced previous responses

36. References • García-Bayonas, M and Gottschall, H. Student Attitudes Toward Group Work Among Undergraduates in Business Administration, Education, and Mathematics. Educational Research Quarterly. 32(1): 3-26, 2008. • Harkness, S. S. Experiential Learning: Undergraduate Research Methodology Instruction Through Directed Research and Mentoring Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Hyatt Regency Chicago and the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers, Chicago, IL, Aug 30, 2007 Online. 2008-05-13. http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p209938_index.html • Vodopivec, I, Vujaklija, A, Hrabak, M, Lukic, IK, Marusic, A, Marusic, M. Knowledge about and attitude towards science of first year medical students. Croatian Medical Journal, 43 (1): 58-62, 2002.

37. Acknowledgements • Students from SME 1318 Research Methods in Sports Medicine course at Merrimack College • Merrimack College Experiential Learning Davis Grant • Merrimack College Faculty Development Grant award