The research project is a major component of most higher education sport courses. While undertaking a research project can be an exciting and rewarding experience, it can all too easily lead to stress and disappointment. Mistakes made early in the process - in the design of experiments, for example - can lead to frustration later on. This accessible book guides students through the process, from the initial stages of research (identifying problems and designing questions) right through to the presentation of their findings.

Chris Lynch teaches at Sheffield College, where he is lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science. He has extensive experience of teaching research methods to students on higher education courses and supervising their research projects. Chris is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a member of BASES. He is also an avid follower of sport and a poor 5-a-side footballer.

Part 1: Getting to the start line
Your research project and this book
Getting to the start line: the basis of research
Identifying problems and developing the research question
Searching for and reading research to write a literature review
Designing an experiment
Non-experimental research
Writing the why
Part 2: Yoüre off!
Yoüre off: making ethics applications
Writing the how
Data analysis
Part 3: Crossing the finish line
Writing what you have found
Writing the so what
Crossing the finish line
Appendix: writing-up checklist