Chapter 2

Reading and Interpreting the Literature in Exercise Science

Introduction

This chapter begins by discussing the importance of scientific literature in exercise science. The authors then describe the differences between scientific and nonscientific literature sources. A discussion of the main components of a scientific research article is also provided, and tips are given for reading and interpreting primary and secondary academic references. The chapter ends by describing techniques for locating references, conducting literature searches, and accessing full-text articles. Students are encouraged to practice the techniques described so that they can become intelligent consumers of the literature in exercise science.

Chapter Objectives

After studying this chapter, students will be able to do the following:

Describe the differences between scientific and nonscientific literature sources.
Describe the seven general sections of a scientific research article.
List the three major types of secondary academic references.
Discuss how to use scientific literature to locate graduate programs in exercise science.
Discuss how to locate references and perform literature searches in exercise science.
Describe how to access the full-text version of a research article.

Study Questions

Describe the peer review process that scientific research articles must go through before they can be published.
Describe the differences between primary and secondary academic references.
Describe how scientific literature can help students locate graduate programs in exercise science.
Describe three different methods that students can use to gain access to the full-text version of a scientific research article.
List two databases that are useful for finding scientific research articles in allied-health and education-related fields.
Describe why articles published in nonscientific literature sources are not always completely accurate.
Describe the seven sections of a scientific research article, and provide a brief description of the information contained in each section.
Describe why scientific research is important for teaching in exercise science and how research can help to differentiate fact from fiction.

Student Activities

Have students conduct a literature search using the word “creatine” as a keyword. Then have them narrow the search by locating only scientific research articles that examined the effects of creatine on muscular strength. Have students write a brief synopsis of the results from five scientific research articles that examined the effects of creatine on muscular strength.
Have students find a scientific research article on an exercise science topic of their choice and access the full-text version of the article. Then have them write a two-page description of the results from the study and how the study could be modified for future investigations.
Have students find a nonscientific literature source (e.g., Internet website, newspaper article, magazine article) on an exercise science topic of their choice. Then have them write a two-page paper that describes a scientific research study that could be performed to examine the issue discussed in the nonscientific literature source.