Throughout my life I heard the famous phrase "healthy body, healthy mind." At
least in Germany this phrase is quite common. But is there really a relationship, or do
people just say it? In this context some might argue that being physical active does not
contribute to the overall health at all. It is more what we eat that matters. They are right to
some extent. However, according to Chryss Cada, staying in shape is always a balance
between exercise and nutrition (Cada, 2003). Both physical activity and a good diet
contribute to a healthy body and, according to the famous phrase, to a healthy mind. To
find out if a healthy body really helps a student perform better academically I examined
what impact physical activity has on the academic success of students. I believe that there
is a positive relationship between physical activity and academic success. The literature is full of opinions that support my assumption. For example,
Douglas H. Heath, a professor emeritus of the Psychology Department of Haverford
College, states that success in general is caused by many factors such as how many
hobbies, interests, and jobs a student has, or who is active in extracurricular activities
(Becker, 1992). A more relevant statement to this topic comes from Jim MacKinnon, the
athletic director at Starpoint, who points out that "Kids who go through the athletic
program learn discipline, and that carries over into their studies. It carries over not only
into academics; it carries over into your life." (Dicesare, 2002) Sheila Boles, Hoggards
High School athletics director, even says: "I don't think there's anything that can teach
you more about life than athletics success and failure and how to handle them both
graciously." (Grady, 2002) Many other authors share this opinion. They contribute that
athletes have higher GPAs (Hickman, 2002), or are more likely to find themselves in
supervisory roles in the later working environment than their non-athletic peers
(Schouten, 2002). Sport programs even help students develop self-confidence, time
management skills and interpersonal communication (Molbeck, 2003). Furthermore,
physical activity may strengthen competitive drive in non-athletic areas, boost self
confidence, and reinforce the discipline necessary for academic success (Robst, 2000). [...]
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Real scenario
3. Ideal scenario
4. Results
5. Discussion and Recommendation
6. References and Appendix
Research Objectives and Core Topics
This report investigates the correlation between the frequency of recreational physical activity and the academic performance, measured by Grade Point Average (GPA), of full-time MBA students. The research seeks to determine whether the popular belief of a "healthy body, healthy mind" holds true in an academic setting.
- Analysis of the relationship between physical exercise and academic success.
- Evaluation of student perceptions regarding the importance of physical health.
- Methodological comparison between small-scale convenience sampling and theoretical real-world research designs.
- Identification of potential systematic and random errors in survey-based academic research.
Excerpt from the Book
Errors in my survey research
Before conducting the research I knew that I will encounter some measurement errors. The few students who were going to fill out my questionnaire could not represent the whole population. I had been aware that unless I would increase my sample size this random sampling error was unavoidable.
Since there was not much I could do anyway to reduce the random sampling error I tried to guard against the systematic errors. Systematic errors result from imperfect research design or from a mistake in the execution of the research. These errors, also called non-sampling errors, fall in two categories, respondent errors and administrative errors.
Respondent errors could arise if the students who were going to fill out my questionnaire would not give truthful answers. Sometimes people tend to answer in a certain direction. This survey error is also called response bias. My respondents could lie or want to look more athletic than they actually are. They could be tempted to provide a higher GPA than they actually have or they could go through the questions quickly without thinking in order to get over with (deliberate falsification). Chances were also high that my respondents would not understand the question or they could be just wrong (unconscious misrepresentation). For example, they might not remember how many hours they engage in physical activity per week. Since I knew that all this might happen
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: The author presents the motivation for the study, grounded in the belief that physical activity influences mental performance, and reviews existing literature.
2. Real scenario: This section details the target group selection of full-time MBA students and describes the construction of the survey questionnaire.
3. Ideal scenario: The chapter outlines how the research would be conducted on a larger scale with increased resources and broader institutional access.
4. Results: The author presents the gathered data through graphical representations, analyzing the GPA distributions in relation to the frequency of physical activity.
5. Discussion and Recommendation: The study concludes that the original hypothesis is not supported by the data, noting that the results actually suggest a negative correlation between frequent exercise and GPA in this specific sample.
6. References and Appendix: This section lists the academic and journalistic sources cited throughout the report and provides the original survey instrument.
Keywords
Physical Activity, Academic Success, MBA Students, GPA, Survey Research, Convenience Sampling, Response Bias, Systematic Errors, Healthy Body, Healthy Mind, Statistical Correlation, Questionnaire Design, Student Performance, Recreation, Higher Education.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary objective of this research?
The research aims to empirically test the assumption that a positive relationship exists between the time spent on recreational physical activity and the academic success of full-time MBA students.
What are the central thematic areas covered?
The study covers the impact of exercise on cognitive performance, the methodology of conducting survey research, and the identification of potential errors in data collection.
What research methodology was employed?
The author utilized a quantitative survey approach, employing convenience sampling to collect data from 30 students via a structured questionnaire containing nominal, interval, and ordinal scale questions.
What does the main part of the document treat?
The main body focuses on the research design, the potential pitfalls of survey methodology, the presentation of survey results through graphs, and a final discussion that refutes the initial hypothesis.
What are the essential keywords characterizing the work?
Key terms include Physical Activity, Academic Success, GPA, Survey Research, and Response Bias.
What is the core conclusion of the report?
The study concludes that, contrary to the initial hypothesis, the surveyed students who engaged in physical activity more frequently did not demonstrate higher GPAs than those who were less physically active.
How were GPAs handled when data was missing?
For respondents who did not provide a specific GPA, the author assigned values based on their self-reported performance in completed graduate courses using an estimation scale (e.g., A=4.00).
What limitations does the author acknowledge regarding the sample size?
The author acknowledges that the small sample size of 30 students at a single university makes it impossible to draw broad, reliable conclusions and suggests that a larger, multi-university study would be required for more accuracy.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Alexander Keller (Autor:in), 2003, Is the amount of time spent for physical activity linked to academic success?, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/19245
