JXH-4402 The Sport and Exercise Science Practitioner Supplementary, Case Study

Context:

Most sport and exercise science accreditation routes require practitioners to provide a written case study synthesising an example of client support that the practitioner has completed.

1. Competency and goal setting

After an in-depth critique of your chosen SES discipline in section 2, you will be required to plan how you intend to develop some of the important competencies for this discipline over the course of the MSc program. There are 2 steps to complete this section. The aim will be to provide a plan of how you intend to develop key competencies related to your discipline.

The 2 steps are detailed below:
(i) Key competencies and ratings – Based on your discipline of choice and following discussions with your mentor, you will need to list the key competencies you intend to develop over the academic year. You will need to identify 8- 10 competencies that can be developed in this timeframe. Once you have identified these competencies you will need to rate your skill levels on each of these competencies. You should use
the 0-5 rating adopted by BASES or the BPS (0 = no experience and 5 = autonomous competency). You will need to provide evidence to support your ratings.
(ii) Goal setting - You will need to set goals, that you can work on during the academic year, to increase the rating for each of the competencies identified above. These goals should follow SMART principles and after identifying your goals you should describe how you will progress towards these goals. It is essential you list specific activities that will allow you to develop your competencies.

2. Presentation of a needs analysis

This should include a detailed description of the process of collecting information about the client in order to make decisions on which intervention is most appropriate. This should include how you sought and elicited the information from the client (e.g. initial communications and discussions, observations, follow-up discussions, performance profile, structured interview, remote tests and assessments or questionnaires). The needs analysis must be supported with scientific references. Analysis of the data obtained from the needs analysis must be clearly presented.

3. A recommendation and plan for an intervention

This section should include information and a rationale regarding the choice of intervention based on the results of your needs analysis. The content should include e.g., what interventions did you choose, and why? How would you implement the intervention, i.e., what techniques would you use, and why? Again, all decisions made must be discussed in relation to the scientific literature.

4. References

Include a bibliographic list of cited references

5. Appendices

Include other pertinent and relevant paperwork related to your applied work e.g., detailed results from the needs analysis, student-client contract.

Specific Marking Criteria – Supplementary assessment

• Clearly and appropriately presented goal sheets with appropriate competencies identified and a plan to develop them via the use of SMART goals. Clear links between levels claimed and supporting evidence.
  
  
• Clear and detailed background to the client(s). 
  
  
• A thorough and detailed needs analysis is provided making it clear how information was elicited. Detailed breakdown of results from gathered information providing a logical and evidence-based decision on the needs of the client.
  
  
• A thorough and detailed intervention plan is provided with supporting documents. The rationale for the intervention is clear and supported by the scientific literature and the results of the needs analysis.
  
  
• Clear, concise, no grammatical or spelling errors.
  
  
• Logically structured, formatted in a clear manner with good writing flow. Resources are properly referenced using APA referencing style.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO HELP COMPLETE THE PART 2 CASE STUDY ASSESSMENT.

Discussion of the Scientific Literature

It is important to relate your work to the scientific literature where appropriate. The discussion of scientific literature does not form a separate section; rather, reference to and discussion of scientific literature should be present throughout the entire case study. Every decision you make regarding what you have chosen to do and how you have done it, should be referenced. Scientific literature that underpins major decisions that are critical to your intervention would generally be discussed in fuller depth than literature that underpins more minor decisions that are made. Be sure to consult with your supervisor about how to discuss the referenced literature.

Presenting the needs analysis

In one of the module seminars (Supporting clients with evidenced based practice) we will cover aspects of the needs analysis and what this entails. In summary, a needs analysis is the process of gathering information from the client, through meetings, more formal structured interviews, observation (in the sport or exercise setting), discussions with significant others (e.g. coaches), laboratory or remote testing or developing a performance profile. The end point of the needs analysis should give you an indication of your client’s strengths and areas for improvement. Please make sure you include a table (or written summary) of the results of the needs analysis. It is also good practice to compare results to published normative data to highlight areas for improvement. This will lead on nicely to the following section where you plan and describe the intervention you have implemented to help the client.

A recommendation and plan for an intervention

To save on word count you can attach detailed information from your intervention plan in the appendices (e.g. training or nutritional programs). This will allow you to write more on the justification of the intervention supported by the literature. This section should follow logically and refer back to the needs analysis, as you should have identified areas for improvement (the needs of the client) from the needs analysis.

Learning Outcome:

LO1: Plan, initiate and evaluate an appropriate personal programme of development. 

LO2: Provide an evidence-based account of achievements and activities over Semester 1.

LO3: Coherently and critically presented integration of scientific knowledge within support work.