PROJECT INFORMATION
    The project consists of an interview with either an exercise leader in a commercial establishment or a review of literature on a psychological topic related to the course content.  Student-initiated projects approved by the instructor by the end of the third week of class are also acceptable.  All types of projects will be turned in to me in typewritten form and all papers will be approximate 15-20 pages in length (including references, appendices, tables, etc.).  Students are encouraged to come to my office to look over some of the better examples of the way in which past students have organized and written their projects.

Interview

The interview must be with someone with whom you have not had a previous experience (e.g., former coach, teacher, personal trainer, etc.).  This person should be working part- or full-time (preferable) in the fitness industry.  They can be working in or outside of the Phoenix metropolitan area.  The interview can be done via telephone or in person (preferable), but in both cases it must be audiotaped.  Having the person respond in writing to a list of questions you submit to them is unacceptable (zero credit).  The questions that you prepare in advance should deal with the following areas:  (a) the person's background, education/training and experience in the fitness field; (2) a description person's job and the setting he/she is working in; (3)  the type of clients he/she is dealing with; (4) the views this person has regarding the physical benefits of exercise (anecdotal examples would be useful); and (5) the person's views on the psychological benefits of exercise (anecdotal examples would be helpful).  The most important and longest of these sections of the interview should be #5 dealing with the psychological benefits.  Your questions should address the psychological benefits and issues related to this as thoroughly as possible.  To make sure you are on the right track, by March 23 (class meeting following Spring break) you must turn in to me a brief description of the person you intend to interview and a list of at least 20 questions you plan to use in your interview.  It is preferable if your initial questions be be more general with more specific questions used as potential follow-up questions.  Also make sure that your questions do not contain scientific jargon that the person you are interviewing may not understand.  In addition to turning in the 15-20 page paper, you must also turn in the audiotape of the interview.

Review of Literature   

The review of literature must be on a topic related to the field of exercise psychology; it cannot be one related to either sport psychology or to sport sociology.  The topic you select must have at least 15 scientific articles on the topic.  The scientific articles can be supplemented with no more than five nonscientific articles (theses, dissertations, internet articles, government reports, newspaper/magazine articles, etc.).  To make sure you are on the right track, by March 23 (class meeting following the Spring break) you must turn in to me a brief description of the topic you plan to review along with a listing of the 15 or more scientific articles you plan to review.  

Student-Initiated Project

On a few occasions, students have wanted to collect some readily obtainable data (information) that is relevant to the content in this course.  I prefer projects of this type, but they are very difficult to do.  This type of project necessitates some planning and actual infomation collection early on in the semester.  For example, even questionnaire surveys have to go through the university committee on the use of human subjects and this takes time.  Therefore, this project may not be feasible for many students.   Therefore, to do a project of this type you will need to come to my office to discuss the project you have in mind no later than February 19, 1999.  Failure to come to discuss this with me by this date, will mean that your choices are now restricted to either the interview or the review of literature.