Psychological Case Studies in Sport and Exercise: Guidelines and Requirements

Theoretical Knowledge and Skills

K2 - use theoretical knowledge to interpret key issues in psychological case studies in sport and exercise;

K3 - formulate recommendations for psychological needs analysis, for intervention and for evaluating the effectiveness of interventions;

K4 - evaluate primary theoretical and applied research to justify the appropriateness of methods of assessment, intervention and evaluation in psychological consultancy;

S2 - communicate recommendations for psychological assessment, intervention and evaluation in sport and exercise in written format.

The electronic copy of your assessment will be submitted through a plagiarism detection service (i.e., Turnitin) to check the originality of your work.

You are required to complete and submit one case study. You must propose a detailed intervention to address the issues highlighted in the case study. Two case studies will be released and you must choose one to answer. The case studies will be released on Friday 19th March 2021.

CASE STUDY GUIDELINES:

You are required to analyse information on a client or client group. It is advised that you bring textbooks, laptops and any other resources (e.g., annotated journal articles and lecture notes) to your seminar sessions so you can fully explore the example case study information. The more you engage with your seminar sessions the more feedback you will gain for your assessment You are required to:

1. Identify the core issue(s): In this section, you are required to explain the core issue(s) within your case study information. You are expected to interpret the case study information you have been given through relevant psychological theories and research to explain and understand the issue(s) presented.
2. Indicate how you would measure your issue(s): In this section, you are required to explain the measures you would use to track your client(s) issue(s) across the duration of your intervention. Make sure you justify the use of your measures and explain why your measures are appropriate. Consider where, when and how measures will be completed. It is  recommended that you refer to psychological literature to provide an evidence-base for the measures used. All measures used must be appropriately referenced.
3. Propose an intervention: In this section, you are required to propose an intervention covered within the module content that would appropriately address your client(s) issue(s). You should use relevant theory and research to explain the specifics of your intervention including intervention length, how exactly your intervention will work, when and where your intervention will take place and any specific session content. You can use an Appendix to illustrate elements of your intervention (e.g., session plans, resources)

Remember, you are not carrying out an intervention. You are merely proposing an intervention that would theoretically make sense given your client(s).

4. Evaluate the effectiveness of your intervention: In this section you are required to propose methods of evaluation that will help you determine whether your intervention has been successful. Consult previous psychological literature to support the use of your evaluation methods. Within psychology it is useful to consider using a wide range of evaluation methods to better evaluate your intervention.

FORMAT AND WRITING STYLE:

Each individual case study is to be no more than 5 pages (excluding your reference list and appendix).

Please double space all lines of text, use 11 point font size, Verdana text, and all margins should be 2.54 cm (1 inch). Include the module code and title on the top of each page. Please also include your N number of the top of each page and page numbers at the bottom of each page. Do not include your name in your case study portfolio so that all portfolios can be marked anonymously. There is no need to include a cover or contents page. A word document template will be made available on NOW.

Write in complete sentences. Do not write out lists or use bullet points. Use headings and subheadings (if appropriate). If paragraphs are indented you do not need to include a line space between paragraphs. Use appropriate academic and scientific language (e.g., avoid personal opinion).

You have limited space in which to address your case studies. It is therefore vital to write concisely. You do not have space for long introductory paragraphs. You should follow the order of points outlined in case study guidelines section and use these headings as sub-headings to provide a structure to your case study.

Your case study portfolio should include the following (in order): case study, one complete reference list, and an appendix (if applicable).

All citations and the reference list must be in APA format. There are copies of the American Psychological Association Manual in the NTU libraries. You can also purchase an APA manual through relevant websites.