Statistics used in doctoral thesis in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences

Estadística utilizada en tesis doctorales de ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte

Introduction: The application of statistical tests and techniques is necessary for the verification of hypotheses arising before the objectives of scientific production in areas related to Physical Activity (PA) and Sport. Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the statistical tests and techniques applied to doctoral theses in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences. Methodology: 44 papers were examined from the public repositories of three Spanish-speaking universities. Results: a balance was observed in the use of parametric and nonparametric tests (38.6% and 40.9% respectively), the remaining 20.5% applied both types of tests. For parametric tests, Student's t-test (23.3%), ANOVA (23.3%) and Pearson's R (12.3%) stand out as the most commonly used. The most applied nonparametric test techniques the Mann Whitney U (18.6%), Wilcoxon (16.3%), Chi-square (15.1%) and Cronbach's Alpha (10.5%). Conclusions: It was observed that the statistical techniques used are inclined to compare measures and establish association or correlations. These findings suggest the in-depth study of these statistical techniques.