BSC206 Research Methodology and Evidence Based Practice
Critical review of manuscript
The study's objective was to determine how well an eight-week soccer training regimen
improved the cardiovascular health of Kenyan high school soccer team players. The
primary hypothesis was that participating in the cardiovascular fitness training program
will result in a significant improvement in the players' cardiovascular endurance.
The study involved 30 high school soccer players from the Strathmore School's under-
19 soccer team in Kenya. Before commencing the study, the researchers obtained
written permissions from both the participants and their guardians, ensuring ethical
considerations were met. The participants engaged in an intensive functional training
program specifically designed to enhance cardiovascular fitness, involving various
activities such as running, push-ups, tire flips, squats, chin-ups, burpees, and
stretches. Data collection involved conducting pre-tests before the conditioning
program and post-tests after its completion. R esearchers used the shuttle run test to
gauge cardiovascular endurance, and the test results were later turned into V0 2 max
for analysis. Stata version 16 was used to analyse the data, and a paired T-test was
used to test hypotheses.
The research findings indicated that participants experienced a substantial
improvement in their cardiovascular endurance after completing the eight-week
training program. Specifically, the mean V02 max increased from 38.9133±5.73102
before the program to 41.663±5.34199 after the program. The effect size was
calculated to be 0.741, showing a significant impact. These results provide evidence
to support the hypothesis that cardiovascular endurance is improved by cardiovascular
fitness training.
Despite the study's positive findings, several methodological shortcomings are
apparent, which should be addressed to enhance the study's validity and reliability.
The first methodological shortcoming is the absence of a control group; there was no
group of soccer players who did not undergo the training program. This omission
makes it challenging to establish a clear cause-and-effect relationship between the
training program and the observed improvements. External factors, unrelated to the
program, could have influenced the results. To resolve this, future research should
incorporate a control group that does not receive the training program. This would
enable researchers to isolate the effects of the training regimen, strengthening the
study's internal validity. Control groups are fundamental in experimental designs as
they help researchers discern whether the treatment or intervention is indeed
responsible for the observed changes, reducing the risk of illegitimate findings (Malay
& Chung, 2012).
Critical review of manuscript
The study's objective was to determine how well an eight-week soccer training regimen
improved the cardiovascular health of Kenyan high school soccer team players. The
primary hypothesis was that participating in the cardiovascular fitness training program
will result in a significant improvement in the players' cardiovascular endurance.
The study involved 30 high school soccer players from the Strathmore School's under-
19 soccer team in Kenya. Before commencing the study, the researchers obtained
written permissions from both the participants and their guardians, ensuring ethical
considerations were met. The participants engaged in an intensive functional training
program specifically designed to enhance cardiovascular fitness, involving various
activities such as running, push-ups, tire flips, squats, chin-ups, burpees, and
stretches. Data collection involved conducting pre-tests before the conditioning
program and post-tests after its completion. R esearchers used the shuttle run test to
gauge cardiovascular endurance, and the test results were later turned into V0 2 max
for analysis. Stata version 16 was used to analyse the data, and a paired T-test was
used to test hypotheses.
The research findings indicated that participants experienced a substantial
improvement in their cardiovascular endurance after completing the eight-week
training program. Specifically, the mean V02 max increased from 38.9133±5.73102
before the program to 41.663±5.34199 after the program. The effect size was
calculated to be 0.741, showing a significant impact. These results provide evidence
to support the hypothesis that cardiovascular endurance is improved by cardiovascular
fitness training.
Despite the study's positive findings, several methodological shortcomings are
apparent, which should be addressed to enhance the study's validity and reliability.
The first methodological shortcoming is the absence of a control group; there was no
group of soccer players who did not undergo the training program. This omission
makes it challenging to establish a clear cause-and-effect relationship between the
training program and the observed improvements. External factors, unrelated to the
program, could have influenced the results. To resolve this, future research should
incorporate a control group that does not receive the training program. This would
enable researchers to isolate the effects of the training regimen, strengthening the
study's internal validity. Control groups are fundamental in experimental designs as
they help researchers discern whether the treatment or intervention is indeed
responsible for the observed changes, reducing the risk of illegitimate findings (Malay
& Chung, 2012).
