Research Stages

The investigation process was structured around distinct phases with the first relating to defining the area of study. At this time consent for the study was sought from those responsible for the Paralympic Alpine Ski team and from the athletes involved directly in the investigation. The signed consent forms completed by the athletes can be found in Appendix 1 along with documents from the Paralympic Sports Confederation requesting that the evaluation of the athletes be conducted.

Table 1 presents a summary of the form adopted for this investigation.

Table 1. Phases and Steps of the Investigation Process

PHASE STEP ACTIVITY

1 Defining the area of study Choice of subject matter Defining problems

3 Defining the subjects Defining the experiment participants

4 Data collection Data collection through use of

the selected tools

The researcher task as facilitator and observer

5 Literature review and reflection The study itself

6 Description and analyses of data Description and analyses

Discussion and interpretation of data

The order of presentation should not be seen as a linear path as the investigation process itself is complex, with different combinations that make up a part of the whole. For example, the development of the literature review is defined in the fifth phase, however, the process of seeking out relevant publications that addressed the issues in question and that contributed to a better understanding of the phenomenon intended for study were carried out continuously over the course of all the phases, without interfering with the investigative process. As previously mentioned, the first phase sought to define the area of study, thus involving the choice of theme, defining the objectives and potential problems, outlining the research questions, forming the hypothesis, and entailing an initial period of negotiation with the participants.

The choice of theme arose due to an interest in performing an evaluation of the DPS team in two different situations in two different environments, primarily to know if the recordings made in both tests could be compared. The subject matter was also motivated by an opportunity to develop innovative strategies for evaluative intervention, arousing the interest of both trainers and athletes alike with the possibility of conducting an experiment rarely before done. It should be noted that the cooperation between the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt⁹ (DLR) and the Institute of Sports Science was essential for this research to be completed.

9 Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt – German Aerospace Centre.

The defining of the problems resulted from a long period of discussion to ascertain the characteristics of the research subject and the methodological approach that would be followed.

Several versions were considered before arriving at the final definitive form of the investigation.

Negrine (1999) suggested that the theoretical basis of a qualitative research, the formulation of objectives, and the defining of the research questions for an investigation is only possible after identifying the problems. These strategies served to give direction to the investigation process.

For the second phase of the research covering defining the techniques for collecting information, it was thought to perform 4 evaluative sessions to be conducted two at a time, over two different calendar periods. Each evaluation block would permit the athletes to be assessed in two different laboratories. The first block was aimed at performing cardiopulmonary testing and the second for conducting aerodynamic testing. Alongside the accomplishment of these two principal test experiments together with the specific data collection relevant to both, other techniques for gathering information were also used in order to enrich the records. Among these techniques were the recording of clinical records, anthropometric measurements, interviews (medical history), observations, questionnaires, photographic records and video footage. A literature review of information collection techniques for a qualitative research helped define the tools used for this investigation (Molina, 1995/

1999). A greater possibility exists for being able to triangulate data in a qualitative study when the collection of information is extensive and from many sources. This collection of records as a whole served to support the description, analysis and interpretation of what was proposed by this study.

In the third phase, defining the subjects who would take part in the investigation process, the entire DPS team were invited to participate. It was left to the individual athletes concerned to decide if they wished to be included in the experiment and information collection process of the study.

Although it was initially thought that some athletes might not be able to play a part, this did not in fact prove to be the case. Evaluation practices had previously taken place over the last ten years at the IFS facilities and there was a concern that the mobilization and organization of the DPS team and the planned experiments be conducted to a standard form. The initial goal and objective of the IFS was to conduct a quality evaluation by bringing together the entire DPS team to be evaluated, giving recognition to the value of the suggested proposal and an appreciation for the technical and scientific competence of the institute known for their performance. The University of Göttingen supported the intention of the researcher, financing a part of the study related to the exercise laboratory.

The initial idea of being able to conduct the study with the DPS athletes was very important, because it set the specific group that would be the subject of the research, even though this group was very heterogeneous in its composition. The fact that the location for the evaluation already existed and that the leadership at the DPS already had the desire to evaluate the members of the Alpine Ski team, facilitated greatly the rapid formation of the study group without causing problems for the participants.

The group adopted as the focus for this study numbered seven in total, with ages ranging from 17 to 40 years. To identify the participants, each was labelled initially with the letter “S” for subject together

with a number allocated to each member, using 1 to 7, representing the order in which they would complete the tests for each session.

We were aware that it would be no easy task to bring together this voluntary group of participants, principally because the entire team was based in southern Germany whilst the experiments would be conducted in the centre and extreme north of the country. In addition to difficulties caused by the costs that would be incurred by the relocations, there was also some doubt about the degree of support the experiments would have from the athletes themselves. Despite all this, the German Aerospace Centre together with the University of Göttingen funded the study. At the same time, the professional and academic relations between the team doctor and the coordinator of the Department of Sports Medicine at the University of Göttingen enabled the almost immediate integration of the whole team that would participate in the experiment. By setting out clearly the characteristics of the group, we sought to reinforce the links with the volunteers, with whom we began to provide feed-back on information and strategies that were being determined and the cutting-edge information that would be collected from the experiments.

The data collection itself took place in the fourth phase, with the research team being involved in the direction of the experiments and collection of the data through use of the previously selected tools. The structure of the experiment sessions conducted in this study was broken into two distinct periods. The sessions took places during mornings and afternoons from 9h until 18h, and were separated into two blocks of evaluation of the DPS athletes. The first campaign comprised of 7 athletes, whilst the second had only 5 athletes, with 2 having ended their careers in the interim period.

In this phase of the study it was also possible for the researcher to direct the experiments as an organiser, and also as an observer of the sessions.

From this point on the report centres on the instruments used for data collection, with consideration given to gathering information from a variety of sources in order to enlarge the understanding of the study. After fully contemplating and understanding both advantages and disadvantages of using observation as a data collection tool, it was decided to use the forms of passive and active observer. The researcher acted as a passive observer for the first session only, with the role of recording as much information as possible during the experiment. It also served to help integrate him gradually into the context of the evaluative team and with the athletes themselves. The role of the researcher as an active observer, however, was to make observations even though directing the session and interacting with the athletes. The observations made enabled a more accurate picture of the comportment of the athletes during the sessions and also formed a significant exercise for the recording of information. The records for observations made whilst both monitoring and directing the sessions, were made on the spot either during or immediately after each session. Whilst acting as either a passive or active observer for the assessments, the researcher recorded everything considered to be relevant and that could be used in the drafting of the final report based on the data collected in this phase.

Table 2 summarizes the data collected in the different phases of the study in order to give a analysis categories with the up-to-date theoretical background. A lengthy literature review was performed allowing a period of reflection to take place regarding the study theme. As an example, it can be mention some authors that were consulted in the areas of exercise physiology (Niklas, 1987;

Vanlandewwijck, 2001), aerodynamics (Bendig, 1975; Watanabe, 1977), motor adapted activities (Van der Woude, 2006) and motor learning and development (Schmidt, 2001; Gabbard, 2000).

The sixth and final study phase involved description and analysis of the data, at which time the final report was written, with conditions being right for making the final evaluation of the research, drawing some conclusions, and detailing and outlining future prospects.

6.4 Data Collection Tools