Pick-and-roll is the most widespread cooperative action among high-level basketball teams and the most applied strategy by coaches to gain an advantage over the rival team. During pick-and-roll, opposing teams perform antagonistic actions based on goals that are expressed in offensive and defensive tactics. The aim of this study is to examine the approaches of high-level coaches on the offensive and defensive dynamics emerging in matches of a basketball elite team during an entire season of the Spanish Asociación de Clubes (...) de Baloncesto league. To this end, we used a mixed-methods approach based on systematic observation of verbatim transcripts of interviews conducted with six high-level coaches about the pick-and-roll dynamics that emerged in matches of the Unicaja Málaga team during an entire season of the ACB league. The observational design was nomothetic, punctual, and multidimensional. The choice of this methodology is justified since we developed an ad hoc indirect observation tool to evaluate the coaches’ perspective on this dynamic. Once the intra-observer reliability of the instrument was confirmed, we performed a polar coordinate analysis to identify the significant relationships between the coaches’ evaluations and the offensive and defensive pick-and-roll elements that supported such verbal behaviors. The results highlight the presence of various offensive and defensive aspects of pick-and-roll emerging in the Unicaja team that were significantly associated with positive and negative evaluations of the coaches. The interview confirms that coach 1 and his staff were less confident in options that pick-and-roll offer, which is also reflected in the record of screens made and simulated, than coach 3. This study shows that the application of mixed methods, by analysis of the polar coordinate of the coding carried out on responses of a systematized interview, has proven to be an effective strategy in obtaining relevant information on the expert knowledge of the elite coaches on the influence of pick-and-roll on tactical actions in basketball. (shrink)

The purpose of the present study was to examine male and female Olympic taekwondo competitors’ movement patterns according to their tactical actions by applying a Markov processes analysis. To perform this study, 11,474 actions by male competitors and 12,980 actions by female competitors were compiled and analyzed. The results yielded 32 significant sequences among male competitors and 30 among female competitors. Male competitors demonstrated 11 sequences initiated by an attack, 11 initiated by a counterattack, and 10 initiated by a defensive (...) action. Female competitors demonstrated nine sequences initiated by an attack, 11 initiated by a counterattack, and 10 initiated by a defensive move. The five most popular sequences were the opening and dodge, the direct attack and simultaneous counterattack, the dodge with a direct attack, the indirect attack and simultaneous counterattack, and the simultaneous counterattack with a direct attack. Markov chains help provide coaches and researchers with relevant information about the frequency of actions, both in terms of their frequency of occurrence and the order of their occurrence, during a real competition. It is suggested that coaches and athletes focus on these patterns when training for a real competition. (shrink)

Indirect observation is a recent concept in systematic observation. It largely involves analyzing textual material generated either indirectly from transcriptions of audio recordings of verbal behavior in natural settings (e.g., conversation, group discussions) or directly from narratives (e.g., letters of complaint, tweets, forum posts). It may also feature seemingly unobtrusive objects that can provide relevant insights into daily routines. All these materials constitute an extremely rich source of information for studying everyday life, and they are continuously growing with the burgeoning (...) of new technologies for data recording, dissemination, and storage. Narratives are an excellent vehicle for studying everyday life, and quantitization is proposed as a means of integrating qualitative and quantitative elements. However, this analysis requires a structured system that enables researchers to analyze varying forms and sources of information objectively. In this paper, we present a methodological framework detailing the steps and decisions required to quantitatively analyze a set of data that was originally qualitative. We provide guidelines on study dimensions, text segmentation criteria, ad hoc observation instruments, data quality controls, and coding and preparation of text for quantitative analysis. The quality control stage is essential to ensure that the code matrices generated from the qualitative data are reliable. We provide examples of how an indirect observation study can produce data for quantitative analysis and also describe the different software tools available for the various stages of the process. The proposed method is framed within a specific mixed methods approach that involves collecting qualitative data and subsequently transforming these into matrices of codes (not frequencies) for quantitative analysis to detect underlying structures and behavioral patterns. The data collection and quality control procedures fully meet the requirement of flexibility and provide new perspectives on data integration in the study of biopsychosocial aspects in everyday contexts. (shrink)

This article aims to study the coordination of the defenders’ tactical and technical behaviour of successful teams to recover the ball according to contextual variables. A total of 15,369 events and 49 to 12,398 different patterns in 32 games of the 2014 FIFA World Cup’s play-offs were detected and analysed. Results evidenced a T-pattern of the first defender pressuring the ball carrier and his teammates concentrating at the same zone to cover him or space, leading to ball recovery. Field zones, (...) first defender tactical and technical behaviours, and ball carrier first touch constituted opportunities for defenders to coordinate themselves. Moreover, the third defender had a predominant role in his teammates’ temporisation and covering zone behaviours. In the draw, first half, second-tier quality of opponent and play-offs excluding third place and final matches, the ball regularly shifted from upper to lower field zones in short periods, resulting in ball recovery or shot on goal conceded. Defenders performed behaviours farther from the ball carrier, and player-marking were most recurrent to an effective defence. This study’s findings could help coaches give specific tips to players regarding interpersonal coordination in defence and set strategies to make tactical behaviour emerge globally. (shrink)

Deception has evolved to become a fundamental aspect of human interaction. Despite the prolonged efforts in many disciplines, there has been no definite finding of a univocally “deceptive” signal. This work proposes an approach to deception detection combining cognitive load manipulation and T-pattern methodology with the objective of: (a) testing the efficacy of dual task-procedure in enhancing differences between truth tellers and liars in a low-stakes situation; (b) exploring the efficacy of T-pattern methodology in discriminating truthful reports from deceitful ones (...) in a low-stakes situation; (c) setting the experimental design and procedure for following research. We manipulated cognitive load to enhance differences between truth tellers and liars, because of the low-stakes lies involved in our experiment. We conducted an experimental study with a convenience sample of 40 students. We carried out a first analysis on the behaviors’ frequencies coded through the observation software, using SPSS (22). The aim was to describe shape and characteristics of behavior’s distributions and explore differences between groups. Datasets were then analyzed with Theme 6.0 software which detects repeated patterns (T-patterns) of coded events (non-verbal behaviors) that regularly or irregularly occur within a period of observation. A descriptive analysis on T-pattern frequencies was carried out to explore differences between groups. An in-depth analysis on more complex patterns was performed to get qualitative information on the behavior structure expressed by the participants. Results show that the dual-task procedure enhances differences observed between liars and truth tellers with T-pattern methodology; moreover, T-pattern detection reveals a higher variety and complexity of behavior in truth tellers than in liars. These findings support the combination of cognitive load manipulation and T-pattern methodology for deception detection in low-stakes situations, suggesting the testing of directional hypothesis on a larger probabilistic sample of population. (shrink)

This methodological article provides a Mixed Method approach to analyze how the Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) Model is feasible to enhance student’s autonomy. The objective is to detect how teachers’ behavior-oriented patterns shift in response to continuing professional development to reinforce TPSR strategies. We compared the application of TPSR by three teachers who had previously attended a training course for this model, with that of an expert in the model. A total of 44 sessions of primary and secondary (...) school semesters in various subjects, taught by all four teachers and comprising 120 students. A mixed-method approach followed in the study involved: a) the Observational System of Teaching Oriented Responsibility (OSTOR), which revealed how the teachers’ behavior patterns shifted over their interventions, and b) the Tool for Assessing Responsibility-Based Education (TARE 2.0.), which focused on perceived behaviors by teachers and student behaviors. Data analysis was conducted for a) the T-pattern detection technique, b) polar coordinate analysis to obtain detailed sequences of instruction, and c) descriptive and correlational analysis from the TARE. The mixed-method analysis of data confirms how the TPSR improved the teaching behaviors of the three teachers in training compared with the expert teacher. (shrink)