TY - JOUR
T1 - Threats to internal validity in exercise science
T2 - a review of overlooked confounding variables
AU - Halperin, Israel
AU - Pyne, David
AU - Martin, David
PY - 2015/10
Y1 - 2015/10
N2 - Internal validity refers to the degree of control exerted over potential confounding variables to reduce alternative explanations for the effects of various treatments. In exercise and sports-science research and routine testing, internal validity is commonly achieved by controlling variables such as exercise and warm-up protocols, prior training, nutritional intake before testing, ambient temperature, time of testing, hours of sleep, age, and gender. However, a number of other potential confounding variables often do not receive adequate attention in sports physiology and performance research. These confounding variables include instructions on how to perform the test, volume and frequency of verbal encouragement, knowledge of exercise endpoint, number and gender of observers in the room, influence of music played before and during testing, and the effects of mental fatigue on performance. In this review the authors discuss these variables in relation to common testing environments in exercise and sports science and present some recommendations with the goal of reducing possible threats to internal validity.
AB - Internal validity refers to the degree of control exerted over potential confounding variables to reduce alternative explanations for the effects of various treatments. In exercise and sports-science research and routine testing, internal validity is commonly achieved by controlling variables such as exercise and warm-up protocols, prior training, nutritional intake before testing, ambient temperature, time of testing, hours of sleep, age, and gender. However, a number of other potential confounding variables often do not receive adequate attention in sports physiology and performance research. These confounding variables include instructions on how to perform the test, volume and frequency of verbal encouragement, knowledge of exercise endpoint, number and gender of observers in the room, influence of music played before and during testing, and the effects of mental fatigue on performance. In this review the authors discuss these variables in relation to common testing environments in exercise and sports science and present some recommendations with the goal of reducing possible threats to internal validity.
KW - experimental design
KW - reliability
KW - scientific process
KW - Experimental design
KW - Scientific process
KW - Reliability
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84943265790&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.mendeley.com/research/threats-internal-validity-exercise-science-review-overlooked-confounding-variables
U2 - 10.1123/IJSPP.2014-0566
DO - 10.1123/IJSPP.2014-0566
M3 - Review article
C2 - 25756869
SN - 1555-0265
VL - 10
SP - 823
EP - 829
JO - International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance
JF - International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance
IS - 7
ER -