University of Technology Sydney
Consent to Participate in Research
Title of study: How Do Sports Practitioners Evaluate Sports Science Research: A Replication Study
WHO IS CONDUCTING THIS RESEARCH?: My name is Leanne Choo, and I am a student at UTS. My supervisor is Franco M. Impellizzeri (franco.impellizzeri@uts.edu.au)
WHAT IS THE RESEARCH ABOUT?
The purpose of this online survey is to understand how sports practitioners evaluate and apply sport science research in their roles. We aim to identify the key factors you consider when assessing the quality and applicability, ultimately to enhance its impact within the sports industry.
You have been invited to participate because your experience as a sports practitioner offers valuable insights into these evaluation and application processes. Your perspective will help us understand these decision-making processes more deeply.
Before you decide to participate in this research study, we need to ensure that it is ok for you to take part.
Inclusion criteria
• 18 years old and above
• Professionals actively working in a competitive sports context (see below), at any level, specifically
in roles that directly support athlete performance, such as coaches, sports scientists, physiotherapists, nutritionists, strength and conditioning coaches, and physiologists. By “competitive sport” we mean participation in official events, tournaments, leagues, championships and NOT recreational level.
• Professionals who read and use research within their practice to inform decision-making processes related to sports performance, training, injury prevention, nutrition, rehabilitation, or any other relevant areas.
• Participants with at least two years of experience within a competitive setting.
• Participants must be working in a Commonwealth country or the United States.
• Participants should be able to understand and communicate in English.
Competitive sport includes:
• International level (competing at the international level [individuals or team sport athletes on a national team)
• National Level (competing at the national level or team-sport athletes competing in national and/or state competitions)
• Developmental level (local-level representation, local competitions)
If you agree to participate in this research, you will complete a questionnaire which will take about 15–20 minutes. You may find it interesting to reflect on these issues. While we cannot promise you any other direct benefit from your participation in this study, we hope that your participation will help us better understand how sports practitioners view academic research so that we can improve science communication.
The risks of this research are minimal. The questions we ask in the survey are not of an overly personal nature, and you do not have to answer any of the questions about yourself that you do not want to answer.
FUNDING
There is no external funding for this study. The PhD position is supported by the Australian Government Research Training Program Stipend Scholarship
WHAT DOES MY PARTICIPATION INVOLVE?
Participation in this study is voluntary. It is completely up to you whether you decide to take part.
If you decide to participate, I will invite you to evaluate a series of short research summaries (vignettes). These vignettes describe fictional studies and are not based on existing research projects. This will involve an online questionnaire (approximately 15-20 minutes) where you will assess the trustworthiness and usefulness of these studies on a rating scale. Your responses will be recorded and analysed anonymously. No travel is required as this study is conducted online.
You can change your mind at any time and stop completing the survey/s without consequences. The data collected until you decide to quit or stop the survey will be retained and used.
ARE THERE ANY RISKS/INCONVENIENCE?
We don’t expect this questionnaire to cause any harm or discomfort. However, if a participant feels uncomfortable or encounters any issues with the task (like finding the vignettes too difficult or stressful), they will have the option to stop at any time without penalty.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO INFORMATION ABOUT ME?
Access to the online questionnaire is via Formr. Submission of the online questionnaire/s is an indication of your consent.
In accordance with relevant Australian and/or NSW Privacy laws, you have the right to request access to the information about you that is collected and stored by the research team. You also typically have the right to request that any information with which you disagree be corrected. However, this is not possible in this study because the survey is anonymous, and we will not collect personal information that could individually identify you or reasonably lead to re-identification. It is anticipated that the results of this research project will be published and/or presented in a variety of forums. The results of this research may also be shared through open-access (public) scientific databases, including internet databases. This will enable other researchers to use the data to investigate other important research questions. Shared results and individual data are anonymous and cannot be re-identified, as no personal information (e.g., your name, address, date of birth, etc.) or any contextual information is collected.
WHAT IF I HAVE ANY QUERIES OR CONCERNS?
If you have any queries or concerns about the research that you think I or my supervisor can help you with, please feel free to contact Leanne Choo at leanne.choo@student.uts.edu.au
If you would like to talk to someone who is not connected with the research, or if you have any concerns or complaints about any aspect of the conduct of this research that you wish to raise independently of the research team, please contact the Ethics Secretariat on 02 9514 2478 email or Research.ethics@uts.edu.au and quote the UTS HREC reference number. Any matter raised will be treated confidentially, investigated and you will be informed of the outcome.
If you agree to take part in the research, please check the box next to “I give my consent” to indicate you have read the information provided above and consent to participate. If you do not give your consent, please exit the study.