Physical fitness of elite women's rugby union players over a ...
Physical fitness of elite women's rugby union players over a ...
Physical fitness of elite women's rugby union players over a ...
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CHAPTER THREE<br />
METHODS AND PROCEDURES<br />
3.1 INTRODUCTION<br />
This chapter will outline the practicalities <strong>of</strong> the research employed and also discusses the<br />
research inventories and tests utilised to determine the outcome <strong>of</strong> this research study. Hence,<br />
the chapter commences with a detailed explanation <strong>of</strong> the research design adopted and <strong>of</strong> the<br />
participants recruited, then an explanation <strong>of</strong> the testing period, the description <strong>of</strong> the data<br />
collection process and procedures <strong>of</strong> each assessment included in the <strong>fitness</strong> test battery. The<br />
chapter concludes by describing the ethical aspects to be considered, as well as the statistical<br />
analysis to be used to analyse the data.<br />
3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN<br />
A quantitative approach was used in this study with the specific nature <strong>of</strong> the research being<br />
descriptive and comparative. The study was classified as descriptive as it aimed to achieve<br />
insight into the physical <strong>fitness</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>elite</strong> women’s <strong>rugby</strong> <strong>players</strong> in South Africa <strong>over</strong> a<br />
competitive season.<br />
3.3 PARTICIPANTS<br />
For the purpose <strong>of</strong> this study, 32 female <strong>rugby</strong> <strong>players</strong> selected for the South African Rugby<br />
High Performance Programme were recruited. These <strong>players</strong> were selected from the 2008<br />
Inter-provincial competition by National Selectors appointed by the South African Rugby<br />
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