Research 101

6. Start your own research

Developing a research proposal

• Identifying the topic
• Searching the literature – what do we know about the topic
• Identifying the problem – why do I need to conduct this research
• Defining the research purpose
• Stating the hypothesis(es) – what do you expect to find based on your research on the topic
• Plan the research methods
  • Subjects, age, demographics etc.
  • Instruments used for test (reliability and validity)
  • Procedures – describe interventions, measures, protocols etc.
  • Data analysis – describe selected tests
• Appendices: prepare informed consents, data collection sheets etc.
• Submit to institutional review board (IRB) for approval

IRB submission

• Every article published in a scientific journal requires IRB approval.
• An institutional review board (IRB), also known as an 'independent ethics committee', is a committee that has been designated to approve, monitor, and review biomedical and behavioral research involving humans.
• Institutions that have IRBs are colleges, universities and hospitals.
• There are also professional IRBs available, but they charge fees.
• In order to receive IRB approval, researchers involved in the study need to complete a certification for “training for the protection of human subjects”.
• Only a few projects/studies do not need IRB approval, such as earches of existing literature

Where to publish

• Scientific journals or professional journals (IRB required). Note: The higher the Impact Factor (average number of citations/year), the more highly regarded the journal.
• Other publications from fitness organizations (articles, letters to editor, position statements)
• Evidence-based magazines (FitnessRX for women or men)
• Regular magazines (Pilates Style)
• Websites (such as T-nation or breakingmuscle.com)
• Blogs

Challenges for the independent researcher

• IRB approval: It can become costly if you need to find a private IRB, because you're not associated with a college, university or hospital.
• Staffing: It’s extremely time consuming to conduct a study and all interventions, measures and authoring by yourself! In fact the validity of the study may suffer if testers are not appropriately trained or only 1 tester is used.
• Finding subjects and controls within the budget.
• Avoiding potential conflicts of interest.
• Conducting the required statistical analyses.

7. LIMITATIONS >