EXSC514 - Sports Analytics and Visualisation

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Unit rationale, description and aim

The use of advanced techniques for data collection, storage, analysis and visualisation, to accurately interpret competition and training information, is essential when working in high performance sport. In addition, it is essential to be able to communicate these outcomes in meaningful ways for their implementation by athletes, coaches and support staff to optimise athlete and team performance. The unit addresses specialised statistical, coding and management principles for the collection and analysis of data in field and laboratory settings. The types of data collected in elite sport will be explored, as well as techniques and systems used in storing, analysing and visualising these data, and advanced information literacy skills for summarizing and presenting these data. The aim of the unit is to provide students with evidence-based, ethically-grounded, industry-relevant knowledge and skills in data handling, analysis and reporting, to effectively communicate ideas and outcomes to specialist and non-specialist stakeholders in high performance sport settings.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Demonstrate advanced knowledge of data collection, management and coding systems used in high performance sport (GA5) 

LO2 - Perform specialised technical, statistical and coding skills for analysing, summarising, visualising and reporting data (GA5, GA8) 

LO3 - Interpret, display and communicate data in ways appropriate to different audiences in high performance sport, displaying appropriate standards of ethical and technical conduct (G5, GA8, GA9, GA10) 

Graduate attributes

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

GA9 - demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media 

GA10 - utilise information and communication and other relevant technologies effectively.

Content

Topics will include: 

• Organising data, displaying and reporting data 
• Advanced software use (e.g., MS Excel) for data management, analysis and reporting, including pivot tables to summarise data 
• Automating tasks in specific software (e.g., MS Excel) by using macros 
• Data visualisation 
• Basic inferential statistics (e.g., Z Scores, Probability, Confidence intervals) 
• Effect size 
• Magnitudes-based statistics 
• Risk ratios 
• Linear mixed models 
• Cross correlation analysis 
• Data cleaning, splitting, synching and analyzing large data sets. 
• Assessing change and relationships in performance variables  
• Interpretation of data for high performance sport practice 
• Introduction to R programming 

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

The learning and teaching strategy in this unit has been designed to support learning in the online environment, to meet the aim, learning outcomes and graduate attributes of the unit, and reflect respect for the individual as an independent learner. A range of approaches (e.g., active learning, web-based learning, case-based learning, reflective/critical thinking activities) are utilised, so that the unit’s content and activities progress students through the learning outcomes and associated assessment tasks. That is, the unit has a deliberate developmental narrative, with each learning outcome and assessment aligned with a specific purpose.  

Assessment strategy and rationale

To best enable students to demonstrate unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes, standards-based assessment is utilised, consistent with University assessment requirements. The assessment strategy in this unit has been designed to support learning as well as to assess it. It is sequenced so that the progression through the assessment matches the progression of learners through the learning outcomes. That is, it has a deliberate developmental narrative. Each assessment item is therefore also aligned with a specific purpose. A range of assessment strategies are used including: an examination to assess student learning of unit content; an analysis task to assess student’s ability to organize, analyse and report data, and interpret its application to practice; and a written task to assess student’s ability to analyse, report and communicate data to industry-relevant audiences, displaying appropriate application of accumulated learning through the unit. 

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Hopkins W. (2016). New View on Statistics. http://www.sportsci.org/resource/stats/index.html 

Vincent W & Weir J. (2012) Statistics in Kinesiology (4th Ed.). Champaign IL: Human Kinetics.