Sport Psychology Study and Its Scientific Merit Report (Assessment)

Introduction

This paper analyzes the scientific merit of a research study in the field of sport psychology. Antonini Philippe, Rochat, Vauthier, and Hauw (2016) provide a qualitative investigation of runners’ experience grounded on their stories of withdrawals during an ultra-trail running race. The paper aims to evaluate the contribution of the study to advance the scientific knowledge base of the identified field of research as well as the improvement of research theory and the field of study as a whole. Also, it is going to assess the use of the scientific methods of enquiry by researchers, determine the validity and reliability of research under consideration, and estimate the strategies that the authors used to address ethical concerns in the study.

Evaluation of Advancing the Scientific Knowledge Base

The study in question advances the scientific knowledge base in the field of sport psychology. On the whole, the results of this research provide a better understanding of the organization’s peculiarities of runners during a race. It can be concluded that this study collects and refines information from previous studies dedicated to endurance events (Holt, Lee, Kim, & Klein, 2014; Johnson, Kenttä, Ivarsson, Alvmyren, & Karlsson, 2015; Lahart et al., 2013). The study discovered six representative sequences that explain the decision of racers to withdraw from the race. These sequences include “feeling pain, putting meaning to those feelings; adjusting running style; attempting to overcome the problem; other runners’ influences; and assessing the situation” (Antonini Philippe et al., 2016, p. 368). They suggest a new understanding of the withdrawal mechanism.

In fact, the study findings correspond to the initial expectations of the research team and support previous research results regarding the segmented courses of action and their general organization to achieve sports performance purposes. For example, Mohamed, Favrod, Antonini Philippe, and Hauw (2015) investigated the situated management of safety during risky sport based on the experience of skydivers. Their findings suggested that withdrawal was the most frequent result of a change in the individual’s perceptions of different situations during the trail race due to personal experience that was obtained as a result of participation in sporting events. Nevertheless, this research adds two new properties that are meaningful for the issue of ultramarathon investigation. These properties deal with ordering and linkages of the sequences that constituted the experiences of the withdrawals in the study under question: progression and accumulation (Antonini Philippe et al., 2016). Speaking about progression in the experience of runners, it included a succession of sequences that influenced the athlete and, based on his or her previous experiences, to making a decision to withdraw the race, which seemed the only proper option at that moment. The problem emerges during the first two sequences, which are the feeling of pain and attempts to comprehend it. This finding implies that an experienced athlete is aware of the problem from the beginning and tries to understand it and reveal the reasons for it.

The following two representative sequences imply adjustment. The researchers revealed alterations in the style of running demonstrated by athletes as well as race management factors, including rest stops and treatment. The changes depend on the athlete’s perceptions of the situation. The issue of perceptions was investigated by Johnson et al. (2015). Their study found that perceptions are meaningful for experiences of races, which, as it is proved in the present study, have an impact on withdrawal decisions. Nevertheless, the efforts did not result in the problem resolution and led to a necessity for the search for support in the environment of the racers, which makes the fifth representative sequence. Finally, the sixth representative sequence implies the analysis of the situation. While an athlete might still hesitate, this stage is the nearest to withdrawal decision. After the six sequences, as Antonini Philippe et al. (2016) claim, comes the seventh, which is the withdrawal itself. Consequently, the study under analysis results in an algorithm of withdrawal decision-making, thus contributing to the scientific knowledge base.

The study findings are related to other studies dedicated to similar problems. For example, the psychological aspect of ultramarathon runners’ behavior was studied by Simpson, Young, and Jensen (2014), but it was more focused on the issue of surpassing oneself, which is typical of ultra-marathon runners. Similar research implying the participants’ in-race experience was dedicated to the issue of psychological mechanisms of withdrawal during the race (Holt et al., 2014). It also used interviews and race summaries to collect data.

Evaluation of Contribution to Research Theory and the Field of Study

The study has both practical and theoretical value. Speaking about its contribution to research theory and the field of study, the following conclusions can be made. First of all, the present study revealed the fact of the existence of qualitative indicators related to the construction of race and important for the race participants. In their turn, those indicators determined certain features, characteristics, or stories for withdrawal. The researchers suggest describing them as “a progressive, cumulative process associating diverse bodily, behavioral, cognitive, and social experiences” (Antonini Philippe et al., 2016, p. 370). It means that the behavior of runners during the race and their decision to withdraw is prompted by a complex of factors that frequently do not depend on the runner.

Another significant contribution of the study to research theory is the development of the theoretical framework grounded on the enactive approach to human activity (McGann, De Jaegher, & Di Paolo, 2013). This framework is applicable to the sports context and demonstrates the impact of the perceived experience through the succession of sequences on the result of the activity. Therefore, if the steps that lead to a certain result (withdrawal in case of the current study) are predictable and repeated, they can be used for developing preventive strategies, thus helping to reduce withdrawal rate during ultra-trail running races or other sports activities that demand significant efforts and endurance from its participants. Consequently, the study does not only prove the hypothesis that withdrawal from a race is a result of a complex process that implies a set of steps, but suggests the possible applications of this knowledge.

Also, the study provides implications for further investigations. To enhance the research theory and contribute to the field of study, the authors suggest conducting future research to investigate how athletes manage their thoughts about the possibility of withdrawal before the race, thus allowing a deeper psychological insight and suggesting opportunities for counseling for runners to reduce withdrawal rate. Moreover, this investigation could be potentially useful for athletes and provide them with advice on race and thus reduce the negative influence on the athletes’ performance, for example, through effective coping strategies.

Present research provided a theoretical basis for other studies in sport psychology and the related aspects. Thus, some members of the research team continued their work on the issue of withdrawals and its dependence on race topography (Antonini Philippe, Rochat, Crettaz von Roten, & Hauw, 2017). Also, it prompted a comparative study involving vitality states of race finishers and withdrawers in trail racing (Rochat, Hauw, Antonini Philippe, Crettaz von Roten, & Seifert, 2017). Hauw et al. (2016) also attempted to investigate different approaches to the analysis of ultra-trail runners’ performance and used the concepts revealed by the current study. As a continuation of the sequence that implied search for support, Rochat, Hauw, Gür, and Seifert (2018) initiated an investigation aiming to understand the activity of trail runners on online forums.

During the previous two years, there were some studies conducted by other researchers that included this research data as a part of their literature reviews or theoretical sections. Thus, Vors, Marqueste, and Mascret (2018) investigate the Trier Social Stress Test applying the method similar to that used by Antonini Philippe et al. (2016). Roebuck et al. (2018) include the present study in their systematic review of literature on the psychology of ultra-marathon runners. Finally, Hauw and Bilard (2017) involve the enactive approach suggested by Antonini Philippe et al. (2016) in their study, which is an attempt to understand drug use among athletes to enhance their appearance. Therefore, it can be concluded that the study under analysis contributes both to research theory and the field of study, providing both theoretical grounds and practical tools for future research.

Application of Scientific Methods of Enquiry

The choice of method in a qualitative study demands considerable preparation and planning. Methods of enquiry should be selected to answer the research questions and prove or disapprove the hypothesis, thus following the purpose of the study. Research under analysis is a phenomenological study that aims to “understand an experience from the participants’ point of view” (Leeds & Ormrod, 2013, p. 150). It focuses on a phenomenon of withdrawals during an ultra-trail running race and uses the experiences of participants as research data. It usually employs in-depth, unstructured interviews conducted among 5-25 individuals.

Sampling was organized among the participants of the three Grand Raid de la Réunion races on Reunion Island in 2014. Thus, it is a purposeful selection which is necessary for phenomenological study because research participants were selected within a definite cohort of runners. The sample included 8 male and 2 female athletes who volunteered to take part in the research. Sampling was conducted properly with consideration of the research design. The sample size is appropriate to the design as well because phenomenological studies usually involve from five to 25 participants. Ethical issues such as signing the informed consent and getting acquainted with the research peculiarities were also provided.

The study by Antonini Philippe et al. (2016) uses prompted self-confrontation interviews to collect data for research. It is the most frequent method of data collection in phenomenological studies. In addition to interviews, traces of past activity of racers were collected to provide an in-depth understanding of their experiences. Self-confrontation interviews were recorded and transcribed to simplify the process of data extraction. The interviews allowed collecting information about the activity of athletes during the race. Prompts were used to guide respondents and stimulate them to share the experiences that could contribute to the current study. There were three forms of prompts, such as involvement, representamens, and interpretants (Antonini Philippe et al., 2016).

In the context of the selected methods and the study design, the existing limitations should be mentioned. First of all, a retrospective design applied in research involves some problems. Thus, there is a risk of confusion both on the part of a respondent and a researcher. The participants may misinterpret some events, change the order of events, mix up reasons and consequences, etc. Nevertheless, this risk was addressed due to the use of a race map that was expected to help athletes restore the events during the race and analyze the reasons that led to withdrawal with the support of the race map. Another possible limitation can be related to the absence of the control group. Consequently, researchers did not use an opportunity to compare the answers of withdrawn runners and those who finished the race.

Evaluation of Validity and Reliability of the Research Study

The validity of the study comprises both internal and external aspects. According to Leedy and Ormrod (2013), internal validity is “the extent to which its design and the data it yields to allow the researcher to draw accurate conclusions about cause-and-effect and other relationships within the data” (p. 101). Therefore, researchers should take measures to ensure the validity and reliability of data and methods they use for research. In the study under analysis, Antonini Philippe et al. (2016) applied the following measures to ensure data reliability and contribute to research validity. First of all, the group of researchers involved in the study consisted of professionals with experience in conducting qualitative research on the whole and with the application of experience approach in particular. This fact also helped to save time for data analysis because researchers were using familiar instruments and methods.

Secondly, data collection was executed by researchers with experience of investigations in sport sciences and psychology. Moreover, the research supervisor is an experienced professional in the course of action methodology. Before data collection, the researchers were practically trained to be prepared for the peculiarities of data collection for this study and specific procedure of coding process. Thirdly, data coding was provided independently by every researcher. Assessment of coding reliability was conducted with the use of Bellack’s agreement rate (Antonini Philippe et al., 2016). To avoid possible researchers’ bias during the coding process, the coders compared their decisions about representative sequences and excluded those in which all three researchers disagreed. In case two of them agreed, collective re-examination of data was provided to achieve agreement. Only sequences and structures accepted by all the coders were included in the analysis. This approach allowed providing reliability and validity of the research study.

To achieve external validity of the study, which is the applicability of research findings to “situations beyond the study itself,” the team provided research in a real-life setting (Leedy & Ormrod, 2013, p. 103). This strategy enhances the external validity of research thus making it findings more applicable to diverse real-world contexts. Therefore, it has more benefit than a laboratory experiment conducted in artificial settings. Still, since the study under analysis follows a qualitative design, it employs some strategies typical of this research type. Thus, the researchers spent extensive time in the field of study, which make them experts in the researched phenomenon and allows revealing undiscovered aspects and gather the necessary evidence to support the research project and provide theoretical grounds for the hypothesis. The members of the research team were involved in investigations of diverse aspects related to sport psychology such as athletes’ cognition analysis, analysis of performance, problem in competition, etc. Moreover, a thorough literature review was conducted before the study. Also, the strategy of thick description is applied (Leedy & Ormrod, 2013). The researchers provide much detail including citations from the interviews thus allowing readers draw their own conclusions based on the research data.

Assessment of Strategies for Addressing Ethical Concerns

Ethical issues are inevitable in the majority of disciplines that involve humans such as social sciences, medicine, education, psychology, and similar areas of study (Leedy & Ormrod, 2013). Therefore, researchers need to address ethical concerns related to the study. Leedy and Ormrod (2013) single out four categories of research ethical issues, which include “protection from harm, voluntary and informed participation, right to privacy, and honesty with professional colleagues” (p. 104). The first category is not related to the study under analysis because the selected method of a prompted interview does not imply any physical or mental harm to the respondents. Consequently, no specific strategies are necessary. The issue of voluntary and informed participation is integral to this research. The participants were informed at first contact about the purpose of the study which was to observe how their races had unfolded (Antonini Philippe et al., 2016). Moreover, they were told about the voluntary character of their participation.

All the participants who volunteered to join research received an explanation of the study procedures and provided their written informed consent. The right to privacy was realized through anonymity of data and analysis during the investigation. The researchers cite the materials they use throughout the study thus addressing the ethical concern of honesty to their colleagues. On the whole, the research protocol was prepared before the study and was approved by the Faculty of Social Science of the University of Lausanne research ethics committee and corresponded the concepts of the Declaration of Helsinki (Antonini Philippe et al., 2016). Consequently, there were no violations of ethical policies and codes of behavior.

Conclusion

On the whole, the study under consideration provides a valuable contribution to sport psychology as a whole and the issue of withdrawal during ultra-races in particular. In addition to a meaningful contribution to scientific knowledge base and research theory, it suggests practical applications. First of all, the research findings can be helpful for the runners themselves allowing them to learn the techniques of feelings’ interpretation and management. It is expected to allow racers adapt to these feelings and reduce their negative impact on withdrawal decision. Secondly, these data can be applied by sport psychologists to develop coping strategies and thus help to improve the performance of participants. Still, the major role of the study is its contribution to theoretical grounds of research in the field of sport psychology. The research project applies appropriate methods of enquiry and strategies that guarantee validity and reliability of the research. Also, the researchers involve strategies for assessing ethical concerns, which also adds to the research’s validity and reliability. Thus, the study has all the components necessary for research and the strategies the authors apply correspond the selected methods and research deign.

References

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