Following on from our last newsletter, we hope that many of you have started to think about research, whether doing it, participating in it or just reading about it. By having a good understanding of how to research, you are more likely to read research papers (and general work) more critically and you are far more likely to comprehend it. Being a user of research may be one factor separating a successful instructor from an average one.
By reading research and thinking about how the findings affect you or your clients, you continue to grow as a professional and professional growth can lead to improved job performance and job satisfaction. Essentially, research can lead to happiness!
Let’s look at some specific terminology related to research and see how Pilates can fit into the model.
What is the Scientific Method?
The scientific method is the time-honoured procedure used by scientists and researchers to solve problems and discover new knowledge. It has a logical basis for answering questions and interpreting data and as it has application to all academic disciplines and is easily applied to most real work problems, it is considered the foundation of the research process.
What are the steps to the Scientific Method?
State the problem:
Does Pilates or gym based exercise have a greater effect on reducing low back pain?
State a testable and measurable hypothesis:
Pilates has a greater effect on reducing low back pain than gym based exercise.
Plan the methods:
- Who will be the subject? What will be their characteristics (sex, age, physical activity levels and so on)?
- How are effects being measured? Functionality, what are the tests? Are you using a pain questionnaire? Which one? Why?
- Define what the two groups are doing.
- How will the data be treated statistically?
- Carry out the study.
- Analyse the data
- State conclusions/s.
The scientific method is not perfect, but is most likely to produce the best information in most situations.
Basic and applied research:
Basic research is primarily conducted for the sake of general knowledge. Applied research is done with a specific question or application in mind. Applied research is the most common type in the Pilates world currently. For example, the project may ask the question: ‘What effect does doing a Pilates workout 3 times a week have on elite ballet dancer performance?’ and have a hypothesis of ‘Pilates training 3 times a week increases the performance of elite ballet dancers’.
Internal versus external validity:
Internal validity is about the overall quality of the research from a scientific perspective. In a Pilates context, this does not mean how good an instructor is. Rather, it is about adherence to a program, or the methods stated for the research program. For example, our previous hypothesis ‘Pilates training 3 times a week increases the performance of elite ballet dancers’, questions relating to internal validity might be: Did the participants do the exact same workout 3 times per week? Were they supervised workouts? Did they actually attend 3 times per week? Did the study allow for variables?
External validity deals with the potential application of the results. Using the same example, are the results still valid if: Participants did unsupervised workouts? A different method of Pilates is used? A different Pilates workout is performed? The same workout is only ever used? And so on.
Fortunately the research that is generally being conducted in Pilates is similar to field research and as such is conducted in an environment that is likely to be similar to the real world (specifically, in studios, not laboratories).
You can do it!
Although even in the academic world only a small number of professionals actually conduct research, we should all view ourselves as consumers of research.
The scientific method is an orderly and logical way of addressing problems and answering questions. Unscientific methods such as tradition, superstition, relying on anecdotes, trial and error, and mimicking champions are illogical and less useful.
Traits of a good researcher are a high degree of open-mindedness, specific knowledge in a field, intellectual curiosity, perseverance, and honesty. Traits of a good consumer of research are the desire for knowledge, and the ability to read and I’m pretty sure everyone has those.
Next time we’ll look at research writing, doing it and reading it!
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