Tests examining skill outcomes in sport: A systematic review of measurement properties and feasibility

BackgroundA high level of participant skill is influential in determining the outcome of many sports. Thus, tests assessing skill outcomes in sport are commonly used by coaches and researchers to estimate an athlete&rsquo;s ability level, to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions or for the purpose of talent identification.ObjectiveThe objective of this systematic review was to examine the methodological quality, measurement properties and feasibility characteristics of sporting skill outcome tests reported in the peer-reviewed literature.Data SourcesA search of both SPORTDiscus and MEDLINE databases was undertaken.Study SelectionStudies that examined tests of sporting skill outcomes were reviewed. Only studies that investigated measurement properties of the test (reliability or validity) were included. A total of 22 studies met the inclusion/exclusion criteria.Study Appraisal and Synthesis MethodsA customised checklist of assessment criteria, based on previous research, was utilised for the purpose of this review.ResultsA range of sports were the subject of the 22 studies included in this review, with considerations relating to methodological quality being generally well addressed by authors. A range of methods and statistical procedures were used by researchers to determine the measurement properties of their skill outcome tests. The majority (95 %) of the reviewed studies investigated test&ndash;retest reliability, and where relevant, inter and intra-rater reliability was also determined. Content validity was examined in 68 % of the studies, with most tests investigating multiple skill domains relevant to the sport. Only 18 % of studies assessed all three reviewed forms of validity (content, construct and criterion), with just 14 % investigating the predictive validity of the test. Test responsiveness was reported in only 9 % of studies, whilst feasibility received varying levels of attention.LimitationsIn organised sport, further tests may exist which have not been investigated in this review. This could be due to such tests firstly not being published in the peer-review literature and secondly, not having their measurement properties (i.e., reliability or validity) examined formally.ConclusionsOf the 22 studies included in this review, items relating to test methodological quality were, on the whole, well addressed. Test&ndash;retest reliability was determined in all but one of the reviewed studies, whilst most studies investigated at least two aspects of validity (i.e., content, construct or criterion-related validity). Few studies examined predictive validity or responsiveness. While feasibility was addressed in over half of the studies, practicality and test limitations were rarely addressed. Consideration of study quality, measurement properties and feasibility components assessed in this review can assist future researchers when developing or modifying tests of sporting skill outcomes.<br /

Evolution and development of the Indian monsoon

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020. The Indian monsoon is a complex oceanic-atmospheric-coupled mechanism of the tropics that plays a key role in inter-hemispheric heat transfer on Earth. The summer monsoon brings moisture to the highly populated South Asian countries and affects the livelihood of more than a billion people. The intensity of the monsoon significantly influences the ecological diversity and hydrological reservoirs across the South Asian region. However, the intensity of the monsoon greatly varies spatially and temporally, driven by both external and internal forcing factors. Modeling and palaeoclimatic studies indicate several phases of strong and weak summer monsoon rainfall caused by changes in solar insolation, snow accumulation in western Europe, El Niño-Southern Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillations and sea surface temperature in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The initiation and strengthening of the Indian monsoon during the middle-late Miocene are sometimes linked with phases of major surface uplift of the Himalayan and/or Tibetan Plateau. The Plio-Pleistocene glaciation prompted a strong winter monsoon and a weak summer monsoon. During the early Holocene, the summer monsoon strengthened and subsequently weakened with two major phases of sudden rainfall reduction at ~8.2 and ~4.2 kyr BP; the latter event caused significant societal impact including the migration of population of the Indus Valley Civilization. In the last millennium, the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) was strong during the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) now designated as Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) and Current Warm Period (CWP), punctuated by a weak phase during the Little Ice Age (LIA). Meteorological records indicate an increasing trend in the intensity and frequency of extreme rainfall events in the last few decades leading to widespread floods and droughts. High-resolution climatic records from marine as well as continental archives improve our understanding of Indian monsoon variability and its forcing factors on different time scales