College 1: 02-09-2025
Course introduction & Basic ideas and brief history of (sport) science
What about science?
Science, is the organized, systematic enterprise that gathers knowledge about the world and
condenses the knowledge into testable laws and principles
- Edward O. Wilson (1929 - 2021)
Brief historical excursus of the scientific method
- Prediction of the future based on an observation was the first step
The story of Ibn al-Haytham (965 - 1040)
- Manipulated light with different sources, lenses & mirrors to observe if it goes in a
straight line
- Clear line of experiments, precisely reported for reproduction
- Openness to reject previous theories
"theories supplied by reason should be verified by sensory data (data), aided by instruments
(tools), and corroborated by trustworthy witnesses (evidence)” Roger Bacon (1220-92)
Karl Popper (1902-1994) falsification instead of verification
- The logic of scientific discovery (1959)
- A scientific theory is just a theory if you can prove it wrong (otherwise, it’s
pseudo-science)
- First one to falsify instead of verify
- If you can not prove it wrong it’s pseudo-science (the statement: god is existing)
- Rather than design experiments to verify your theory design one falsify it
All swans are white -> you can easily falsify it with seeing a black swan, more easy then seeing
all the swans to see if they are all white
It's easier to disprove something than prove something
Burden of proof
Law
- The burden of proof lies on the one who declares, not on the one who denies -> if
someone is making a statement, it's their aim to prove it, not yours to unprove it
Inferentia
- Null hypothesis is a general statement or default position that there is no
relationship/differences between variables/groupes
, - Reject the null hypothesis
Karl Popper (1902-1994): falsification of verification
The research process
Characteristics of science (Emrich, 2006)
- Science seeks to gain knowledge empirically. It excludes discussions about beyond-
experience, transcendental or supernatural phenomena.
- Scientific work requires intellectual abstraction, generalization and clear terminology. An
essential purpose of science is to know more than one’s own subjective experience.
- Science must follow the principles of logic, i.e., it strives to clarify contradictions logically
and places its statements in a methodical-systematic context. It tries to convey the idea
of a unity of knowledge (complex in a field of different disciplines).
- New knowledge is based on older knowledge, whereby we learn especially from errors.
In this respect, scientific knowledge is always the current state of error (every test has an
error, everything can have an improvement, you need to know what is the error so you
can adapt)
- Scientific knowledge should be obtained uninfluenced by the researcher and his/her
personal opinion. Thus, a scientific explanation differs fundamentally from a mere
opinion.
Misconceptions:
- Research is the gathering of existing information
- Research means collecting new data
- Research is the production of something original
- Research is setting to prove an opinion (eg based on personal experience)
- Research does always involve (solving) a problem
Does the discipline matter?
- Basic research process is the ‘same’ no matter the topic
- Differences in the process are often the research methods used
- Difference between sciences are the phenomena (hypothesis) researched not
necessarily different methods used
, Why is the scientific process important?
-> to prevent from human error (for example biases)
Read article: confirmation bias before practical!
Confirmation bias is a cognitive, emotional and motivational phenomenon that leads to a
perceptual distortion thus favoring information that confirms personal beliefs
- Search for information -> actively seek out information that support their existing beliefs
while ignoring or undervaluing information that contradicts them
- Mitigation strategies: encourage diverse perspectives structured literature
reviews, critical thinking training
- Interpretation -> interpret ambiguous or complex information in a way that aligns with
their preconceptions
- Mitigation strategies: use of validated objective and subjective metrics, peer
review and collaboration, reflective practice
- Recall -> remembering information that supports one’s beliefs more readily than
information that contradicts them
- Mitigation strategies: maintaining detailed records, regular performance reviews,
reflective practice
Strategies to mitigating confirmation bias in sport science:
- Awareness and education
- Diverse perspectives
- Evidence-based practices and/or evidence-informed practices
- Structured decision making
- Critical reflective making
- Principle of falsifiability
- Bayesian theory (statistical method to adapt it on the data) and inference
Correlation is not causation!
- Ice cream sales are highly correlated with shark attack, so we are about to think there is
a causation maybe
Be aware of the early warning signs:
- A free pass to a study you agree with
- Fatal flaws only in studies you disagree with
- Easy recall only of data that proves you are right
-> Easier to stick to what you know than to prove it with an experimental process
Physical activity and sport: series of body movement produced by the skeletal muscular system
- Sport: goal is exertion, skill or enjoyment
- Physical activity: clear purpose & outcome
Course introduction & Basic ideas and brief history of (sport) science
What about science?
Science, is the organized, systematic enterprise that gathers knowledge about the world and
condenses the knowledge into testable laws and principles
- Edward O. Wilson (1929 - 2021)
Brief historical excursus of the scientific method
- Prediction of the future based on an observation was the first step
The story of Ibn al-Haytham (965 - 1040)
- Manipulated light with different sources, lenses & mirrors to observe if it goes in a
straight line
- Clear line of experiments, precisely reported for reproduction
- Openness to reject previous theories
"theories supplied by reason should be verified by sensory data (data), aided by instruments
(tools), and corroborated by trustworthy witnesses (evidence)” Roger Bacon (1220-92)
Karl Popper (1902-1994) falsification instead of verification
- The logic of scientific discovery (1959)
- A scientific theory is just a theory if you can prove it wrong (otherwise, it’s
pseudo-science)
- First one to falsify instead of verify
- If you can not prove it wrong it’s pseudo-science (the statement: god is existing)
- Rather than design experiments to verify your theory design one falsify it
All swans are white -> you can easily falsify it with seeing a black swan, more easy then seeing
all the swans to see if they are all white
It's easier to disprove something than prove something
Burden of proof
Law
- The burden of proof lies on the one who declares, not on the one who denies -> if
someone is making a statement, it's their aim to prove it, not yours to unprove it
Inferentia
- Null hypothesis is a general statement or default position that there is no
relationship/differences between variables/groupes
, - Reject the null hypothesis
Karl Popper (1902-1994): falsification of verification
The research process
Characteristics of science (Emrich, 2006)
- Science seeks to gain knowledge empirically. It excludes discussions about beyond-
experience, transcendental or supernatural phenomena.
- Scientific work requires intellectual abstraction, generalization and clear terminology. An
essential purpose of science is to know more than one’s own subjective experience.
- Science must follow the principles of logic, i.e., it strives to clarify contradictions logically
and places its statements in a methodical-systematic context. It tries to convey the idea
of a unity of knowledge (complex in a field of different disciplines).
- New knowledge is based on older knowledge, whereby we learn especially from errors.
In this respect, scientific knowledge is always the current state of error (every test has an
error, everything can have an improvement, you need to know what is the error so you
can adapt)
- Scientific knowledge should be obtained uninfluenced by the researcher and his/her
personal opinion. Thus, a scientific explanation differs fundamentally from a mere
opinion.
Misconceptions:
- Research is the gathering of existing information
- Research means collecting new data
- Research is the production of something original
- Research is setting to prove an opinion (eg based on personal experience)
- Research does always involve (solving) a problem
Does the discipline matter?
- Basic research process is the ‘same’ no matter the topic
- Differences in the process are often the research methods used
- Difference between sciences are the phenomena (hypothesis) researched not
necessarily different methods used
, Why is the scientific process important?
-> to prevent from human error (for example biases)
Read article: confirmation bias before practical!
Confirmation bias is a cognitive, emotional and motivational phenomenon that leads to a
perceptual distortion thus favoring information that confirms personal beliefs
- Search for information -> actively seek out information that support their existing beliefs
while ignoring or undervaluing information that contradicts them
- Mitigation strategies: encourage diverse perspectives structured literature
reviews, critical thinking training
- Interpretation -> interpret ambiguous or complex information in a way that aligns with
their preconceptions
- Mitigation strategies: use of validated objective and subjective metrics, peer
review and collaboration, reflective practice
- Recall -> remembering information that supports one’s beliefs more readily than
information that contradicts them
- Mitigation strategies: maintaining detailed records, regular performance reviews,
reflective practice
Strategies to mitigating confirmation bias in sport science:
- Awareness and education
- Diverse perspectives
- Evidence-based practices and/or evidence-informed practices
- Structured decision making
- Critical reflective making
- Principle of falsifiability
- Bayesian theory (statistical method to adapt it on the data) and inference
Correlation is not causation!
- Ice cream sales are highly correlated with shark attack, so we are about to think there is
a causation maybe
Be aware of the early warning signs:
- A free pass to a study you agree with
- Fatal flaws only in studies you disagree with
- Easy recall only of data that proves you are right
-> Easier to stick to what you know than to prove it with an experimental process
Physical activity and sport: series of body movement produced by the skeletal muscular system
- Sport: goal is exertion, skill or enjoyment
- Physical activity: clear purpose & outcome
