Research Project Proposal 1

Coastal Carolina University

SPT 580
Bob Burns and Steven Faulk
Research Paper
April 22, 2022

rburns@coastal.edu
swfaulk@coastal.edu
Research Project Proposal 2

Chapter 1
Introduction

The purpose of the proposed research in this study is to take a detailed look at the

COVID-19 virus and how the protocols that have been implemented since its discovery has

impacted campus recreation. Before we take a deeper look into the impacts that the virus has

had on University Recreation it is vital to look into the virus itself. According to cdc.gov(1)

“COVID-19 is a disease caused by a virus named SARS-CoV-2 and was discovered in

December 2019 in Wuhan, China. It is very contagious and has quickly spread around the

world”. As this virus began to spread, the sudden impact that it had on virtually everyone

became of big concern to nearly everyone around the globe. As this virus continued to spread it

caused more of a disruption to everyday life in a multitude of ways. As more knowledge was

gleaned from the virus we quickly were able to learn much from the virus. According to Zhou

(2) “The transmission of SARS-CoV-2 occurs primarily through respiratory droplets and

aerosols generated during coughing or sneezing, which may land on the nose, mouth or eyes”.

As more information was garnered from this virus it became more obvious that this was

becoming a global medical emergency and the more information that was able to be obtained

would be beneficial in helping contain the spread of the virus. The modes of transmission and

symptoms of this virus would be vital in combatting its’ spread. According to cdc.gov(3)

“people with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild

symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the

virus…people with these symptoms may have COVID-19: Fever or chills, cough, shortness of

breath or difficult breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell,

sore throat, congestion or runt nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea”.

Research Project Proposal 3

As the information that was gathered from this data came more clearly into focus we

realized that this information would be crucial to helping us navigate through everyday life. As

we began to look at the impact of this virus through the lens of Coastal Carolina University we

needed to see how the University would react based on the information that it had been provided.

Once the data was provided to the University Recreation staff, there was a number of protocols

that were put into place.

One of the areas that was most negatively impacted by these protocols was the Fitness

Floor at the HTC Center. As the University examined the data related to this virus they decided

to make a number of difficult decisions pertaining to University Recreation procedures. Coastal

Carolina University made the following list of requirements that would need to be followed to

use University Recreation facilities. They included temperature testing upon arrival, a mask

mandate, the facility would close every 3 hours to be sanitized (via fogger), equipment would

need to abide by CDC 6 foot socially distancing protocols, individuals would be required to

sanitize their space after use, the number of sanitizing stations were doubled, and finally some

auxiliary equipment apparatuses would be excluded from use.

Coastal Carolina University also implemented the following changes to the hours of

operation at the HTC Center; prior to COVID-19 the hours of operation were Monday-Friday

from 6am-11pm, and after were reduced to 8am-9pm with allocated stoppage times for

sanitizing. All of these changes are significant when looking at how COVID-19 protocols

affected the use of campus recreation facilities. Additionally, intramural sports and club sports

were canceled in March of 2020 and did not resume until August 2021.

The purpose of this proposed research is to attempt to gather data into how University

Recreation was effected by the virus and its associated protocols. Our research question that we
Research Project Proposal 4

proposed was “What impact has the enhanced COVID-19 protocols had on student participation

in University Recreation programs. This question led us to the following hypothesis. Our Null

Hypothesis is: The enhanced COVID-19 protocols has had no effect on student participation in

University Recreation programs. Our Alternate Hypothesis is: The enhanced COVID-19

protocols has had a negative effect on participation in University Recreation programs.

As the introduction to this research project has detailed, COVID-19 has led to disruptions

to many peoples normal way of life and we believe that through our review of literature that is to

follow and the instrument that we have created in an effort to gather our data that we will be able

to develop much needed data to assist us in answering our research question. While we believe

that this study will provide much valuable information and data, it does also come with some

limitations. Because of the newness of this virus, there has not been a multitude of research

performed on it in relation to its effects on recreation habits. Additionally, the data that is to be

collected from our population may not be able to be generalized to the public but we do feel that

it will be essential in aiding us with the data necessary to fulfill our research.
Research Project Proposal 5

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

As we embarked on our review of literature we realized that there would be some

difficulty in finding articles that would be directly associated with the research question we were

specifically attempting to answer. Because the COVID-19 is still relatively new the amount of

research that has had time to be conducted was a little limited. However, through our

investigation and review of articles we believe that we have some very important information

and data that will assist us as we look to propose our research.

We were able to find an extremely valuable article that really became a roadmap for our

information. The article contained a meta-analysis which would provide us with a significant

number of article resources to guide our project. In this article Caputo (2020) “1784 articles were

retrieved, and 1116 titles remained after removing duplicates. Based on title and abstract

screening, 153 articles were excluded”. This left 41 articles that were included in this review.

The scope and reach of these 41 articles were a valuable asset in our review. The articles

included had a global scope and dealt not only with physical activity but also dealt with some of

the psychological issues that the pandemic produced.

There were two specific articles that really had a close correlation with the research we

are proposing to conduct. The first article that really took a close look at campus recreation and

how COVID-19 has impacted recreation usage in colleges and universities was by Kiely (2021)

“who hypothesized a reduction in fitness center utilization when comparing Fall 2019 to Fall

2020 utilization rates.” This article clearly points to the type research that we are proposing to
Research Project Proposal 6

conduct. The results of this study were quite valuable to our project. Kiely (2021) showed

“there was a statistically significant reduction in recreation center participation from 2019 to

2020.” Mean data reported and was broken down into different section of the fitness area to

address changes in patterns in each of these areas.

One of the ways that this review of literature has aided our project is that it was able to

provide us with more of a global evaluation of research on our topic. One of the major factors

that needs to be accounted for is that how different sets of protocols from different regions have

effected recreation usage. One of the first international studies that we examined involved data

from 14 different countries all that had different governmental restrictions and protocols. This is

where research on this topic can become more difficult to generalize. This article brings to light

that protocols differ from region to region and needs to be accounted for but the research

conducted by Wilke (2021) suggests that subjects vigorous physical activity decreased by 42%

while moderate physical activity decreased by 41%.

Another very useful article that we found was conducted was from Florida Gulf Coast

University. The article also looked to observe what impact the COVID restrictions had on

college students’ health behaviors and habits as well as their mental and emotional well-being

before and after the pandemic. This was a very valuable study in that it was able to report

substantial quantitative data on a broad spectrum. It was able to show changes in physical

activity frequency as well as mental and emotional related data. Pre-pandemic surveys were

provided from April 2018 and 2019 and were compared with surveys from April 2020 and 2021.

Reuter (2021) reported “students who took the survey before April 2020 reported partaking in

physical activity 3.1 days per week, while post-pandemic subjects reported 2.7 days per week of
Research Project Proposal 7

physical activity. This article was able to substantiate the earlier article from Kiely with data

showing a significant decrease in university recreation usage.

One important aspect of data collection that we felt would be beneficial would be to find

articles that looked at more qualitative data in an effort to have a well-rounded body of

information for our proposal. This proved to be quite difficult especially in attempting to find

data that was specific to our scope of research. We were able to find some useful qualitative data

that dealt with subjects’ views toward isolation, quarantine, social distancing and containment.

A total of 548 subjects participated in this survey between March and April 2022. Hussain

(2022) reported that 27% of the participants had excellent knowledge about the symptoms and

prevention of COVID-19 and also that 38% of subjects had an exceptional understanding of

isolation, quarantine, social distancing and containment,

We were also able to find two different articles from Italy that we felt was beneficial to

our proposal. The first of which was a study performed by Galle (2020). It took a look into 3

Italian Universities and observed students’ knowledge of the disease. The questionnaire that was

provided analyzed three related health habits: physical activity, alcohol consumption and

smoking frequency. The data that was collected from this study showed that alcohol

consumption and smoking frequency was not impacted but approximately half of the subjects

reported less physical activity when compared to pre-lockdown life.

The second Italian article that we used was aimed at looking into physical activity levels

in a minutes per week or days per week frequency as well as demographic, anthropometric,

socioeconomic and health status data. It also looked to correlate physical activity and

psychological well-being during the COVID-19 emergency in Italy. Italy was one of the hardest

hit countries in regards mortality rates during the pandemic and this article was able to quantify
Research Project Proposal 8

what type of impact the lockdown had on physical activity. The survey was completed by 2,974

subjects, some of whom were ruled ineligible, but according to Maugeri (2020) “the sample

comprised of 2524 Italian subjects, 1426 females and 1098 males.” The subjects gave

information from before the pandemic and during the quarantine period. The study concluded

that the quarantine induced a “significant reduction of total weekly physical activity energy

expenditure in every group and especially in men.”

Another study we found to be significant was conducted in Croatia. This study took a

look at a number of different variable in relation to physical activity. It included a sample of 823

adolescents with a mean age of 16.5. It looked at their physical activity levels (PAL) from

October 2019 to March 2020 and then also followed up in April 2020 once social distancing

protocols were put into place. It also looked at the variables of urban vs rural subjects and

compared the data collected from both groups. This study had more statistical data from our

review than any other we chose. The study conducted by Zenic (2020) concluded that

adolescents from both urban and rural areas decreased the PAL as a result of imposed measures

of social distancing.

The next study we chose took a look at a number of different factors in reaching their

findings. This study looked at people’s sleep habits, food choices and activity levels. It also

looked to correlate between lousy lifestyle habits and anxiety. The study used convenience

sampling to collect their data. According to Antunes (2020) “only 18.5% of the subjects

participated in high activity levels. On the other hand, 31.8% were classified in the low activity

range and 49.6% were moderate.” This study was used to help highlight some of the gaps that

exist in this research topic and shows where there is a need for more substantive studies to gain a

more representative depiction of COVID-19 protocols and its effect on recreation.

Research Project Proposal 9

The final study that we chose to highlight was another international study looked at

leisure activity habits from the Netherlands. This article was incredibly interesting as it shined a

light on the idea that forms of recreation differ greatly depending on the region of the world you

are analyzing. The Netherlands most popular forms of recreation are generally hiking, running,

cycling, sailing and during the winter months ice skating. While this article did not contain any

statistical data, it did highlight some of the changes that the COVID-19 lockdown produced.

According to van Leeuwen (2020) “During the lockdown period (March – July 2020), people

spend more leisure time at home and with their family. This caused a spike in the popularity of

social-media related leisure gaming, television, but also a revaluing of more “traditional” forms

of leisure like gardening, reading, house chores and playing board games.”

After looking at the articles and literature that we have reviewed there are a number of

things that we have been able to take away. First, we realized that the volume of data that would

be available to use would be quite limited in that we are still not far removed from the pandemic

in regards to time so there is not as much information available as we had hoped. However,

since we are proposing research that has not been vigorously challenged, we feel that this would

be a great opportunity to add to the body of knowledge that is still quite limited. We are aware

that some of the articles that were discussed were loosely associated with our research topic but

it also highlights the important nature of this research moving forward to gain a better

understanding on how COVID-19 protocols have effected University Recreation here at Coastal

Carolina University.
Research Project Proposal 10

Chapter 3: Methods

This proposed research aims to gather data on how University Recreation was

affected by the virus and its associated protocols. To observe the mitigation's effect on

University Recreation, we developed a question that we will attempt to answer through research.

We proposed the following question: "What impact has the enhanced COVID-19 protocols had

on student participation in University Recreation programs? This question led us to a null and

alternate hypothesis. Our Null Hypothesis is: The enhanced COVID-19 protocols have not

affected student participation in University Recreation programs. Our Alternate Hypothesis is:

The enhanced COVID-19 protocols have negatively affected participation in University

Recreation programs.

Study design, participation, and data collection

Since the study's two authors, Bob Burns and Steven Faulk, are graduate students and

employees of Coastal Carolina University, a convenient sample survey comprised of 17

questions will serve as the research design. After receiving Coastal Carolina's Institutional

Review Board approval, the questionnaire will be offered to various juniors and seniors

representing different majors at Coastal Carolina University. Professors will be asked to grant

students extra credit for completing the survey. Students will obtain the questionnaire through

MOODLE (the university's assignment-based portal). Upperclassmen are the population of

choice because students had to participate in University Recreation's activities pre-pandemic to

answer the survey correctly. The authors will conduct a cross-sectional study, using subjects

from a multitude of majors to receive a random sample. This step's implementation lowers

sampling error by promoting a vast student population. The research instrument will be offered
Research Project Proposal 11

to approximately 2,000 students, and the goal is for the participation rate to be at least 35%. In

this scenario, we would have around 700 subjects complete our survey.

Data source and data analysis

The questionnaire consists of nine Likert Scale items. This method can provide

quantitative data. The four-point scale will have the following ranges: strongly agree, agree,

disagree, and strongly disagree. Each category will have an assigned ordinal score of one through

four. Strongly agree will be given a value of 1; agree will receive a value of 2; disagree will have

a value of 3, and strongly disagree will have a value of 4. Since the data is ordinal, the mode

score will serve as the method used to analyze the Likert Scale portion of the study. The survey

covers gender, race, and GPA to observe possible trends. The survey is available for viewing in

appendix 1.

Ethical consideration

Students will sign a conformed consent form before taking part in the survey. The survey

is anonymous, and subjects can decide to withdraw from completing the instrument at any time.

If a student feels uncomfortable answering a demographic question, they can choose to leave the

answer blank—and their survey will still be processed.

Assumptions and limitations

Most of the studies dealing with student activity have focused on what took place during

the hard lockdown in the spring and summer months of 2020. Our research question focuses on

the COVID protocols' effects when Coastal Carolina reopened in August 2020. Furthermore, our

research will rely on response surveys. Our dilemma is one's attitude regarding their willingness

to participate in University Recreation activities while undergoing COVID restrictions is limited.

There is no access to tangible data. It can also be a challenge to get subjects to participate in
Research Project Proposal 12

surveys. We also have to depend on professors to offer extra credit to entice involvement in our

research,

According to Fincham (2008), survey responses should be around 60% for most research

proposals. Since we are attempting to reach college students, we expect a lower rate of 35%.

Since we are hoping to provide the questionnaire to 2,000 students, we are hoping to have

approximately 700 completed documents.

Timeline

Bob Burns and Steven Faulk developed the survey from January 10, 2022, to March 10,

2022. After the survey was formatted, it had to undergo approval from the Coastal Carolina

Institutional Research Board. We hope to have the instrument approved by May 10, 2022. The

plan is to have professors provide the survey to their students during the first half of the fall 2022

semester, from January 15, 2022, to March 8, 2022. The survey's analysis will occur during the

second half of the semester, which ends on December 13, 2022. The goal is to publish the results

between January 2023 and March 2023.

 Research Project Proposal 13

References

Antunes, Frontini, R., Amaro, N., Salvador, R., Matos, R., Morouco, P., & Rebelo-Goncalves, R.

(2020). Exploring Lifestyle Habits, Physical Activity, Anxiety and Basic Psychological Needs in

a Sample of Portuguese Adults during COVID-19. International Journal of Environmental

Research and Public Health, 17(12), 4360–. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17124360

Caputo, E.L., & Reichert, F.F.. (2020). Studies of physical activity and COVID-19 during the pandemic:

A scoping review. Journal of Physical Activity and Health 17(12), 1275-1284. doi:

https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2020-0406

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Basics of covid-19. Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention. Retrieved April 25, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-

health/about-covid-19/basics-covid-19.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Symptoms of COVID-19. Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention. Retrieved April 25, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-

ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html

Fincham. (2008). Response rates and responsiveness for surveys, standards, and the Journal. American

Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 72(2), 43–43. https://doi.org/10.5688/aj720243

Galle, Sabella, E. A., Da Molin, G., De Giglio, O., Caggiano, G., Di Onofrio, V., Ferracuti, S.,

Montagna, M. T., Liguori, G., Orsi, G. B., & Napoli, C. (2020). Understanding Knowledge and

Behaviors Related to CoViD-19 Epidemic in Italian Undergraduate Students: The EPICO

Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(10), 3481–.

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17103481
 Research Project Proposal 14

Hussain, Jawed, N., Mughal, S., & Shafique, K. (2022). Public perception of isolation, quarantine, social

distancing and community containment during COVID-19 pandemic. BMC Public Health, 22(1),

528–528. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-12970-y

Kiely, K., Mase, W., Melton, B.F. & Rochani, H. (2021). “Campus Recreation and Fitness Center

Utilization During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association,

8(2) Statesboro, GA Georgia Southern University Press. doi:

https://doi.org/10.20429/jgpha.2021.080202

Maugeri, G., Castrogiovanni, P., Battaglia, G., Pippi, R., D’agata, V., Palma, A., Di Rosa, M. &

Musumeci, G. (2020). The impact of physical activity on psychological health during Covid-19

pandemic in Italy. Science Direct, 6(6), e04315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04315

Reuter, Forster, B. L., & Kruger, B. J. (2021). A longitudinal study of the impact of COVID-19

restrictions on students' health behavior, mental health and emotional well-being. PeerJ (San

Francisco, CA), 9, e12528–e12528. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.12528

Van Leeuwen, M., Klerks, Y., Bargeman, B., Heslinga, J. & Bastiaansen, M. (2020). Leisure will not be

locked down – insights on leisure and COVID-19 from the Netherlands. World Leisure Journal

62(4), 339-343. https://doi.org.10.1080/16078055.2020.1825255

Wilke, J., Mohr, L., Tenforde, A. S., Edouard, P., Fossati, C., González-Gross, M., Sánchez Ramírez,

C., Laiño, F., Tan, B., Pillay, J. D., Pigozzi, F., Jimenez-Pavon, D., Novak, B., Jaunig, J., Zhang,

M., van Poppel, M., Heidt, C., Willwacher, S., Yuki, G., & Hollander, K. (2021). A pandemic

within the pandemic? Physical activity levels substantially decreased in countries affected by

COVID-19. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(5), 2235.

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052235
 Research Project Proposal 15

Zenic, N., Taiar, R., Gilic, B., Blazevic, M., Maric, D., Pojskic, H. & Sekulic, D. (2020). Levels and

changes of physical activity in adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: Contextualizing

urban vs. rural living environment. Applied Sciences, 10(11), 3997.

https://doi.org/10.3390/app10113997

Zhou, L., Ayeh, S. K., Chidambaram, V., & Karakousis, P. C. (2021, May 28). Modes of transmission of

SARS-COV-2 and evidence for preventive behavioral interventions - BMC infectious diseases.

BioMed Central. Retrieved April 25, 2022, from

https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-021-06222-4
Research Project Proposal 16

Appendix 1

Informed Consent Form

PLEASE READ THIS DOCUMENT CAREFULLY. YOUR SIGNATURE IS REQUIRED

FOR PARTICIPATION. IF YOU DESIRE A COPY OF THIS CONSENT FORM, YOU MAY
REQUEST ONE AND WE WILL PROVIDE IT.
The policy of the Department of University Recreation is that all research participation is
voluntary and you have the right to withdraw at any time, without prejudice, should you object to
the nature of the research. You are entitled to ask questions and to receive an explanation after
your participation.
Statement of purpose of research:
This is a research study in which we are looking to obtain information on recreation habits and
how the Covid-19 protocols have affected such habits.
Procedures of the study:
The following survey will be measuring a multitude of items. The questions have been
formatted to obtain your response on a wide variety of items that are pertinent to Covid-19 and
its effects on recreation.
Possible risks or benefits to the participant:
When filling out questionnaires you may come across question(s) that you may find unpleasant,
upsetting, or otherwise objectionable. If at any time you find these difficult to answer proceed to
the next question. The questions provided in this survey may also have a positive benefits to the
participant by allowing them to gain a better understanding on the topics/questions provided.
Nature of participation:
Participation in this study is voluntary and there are no consequences if the subject refuses to
participate or decides to discontinue participation at any time.
Contact for the investigator:
Research Project Proposal 17

Our names are Bob Burns and Steve Faulk. We are graduate students at Coastal Carolina
University in SPT 580. Our faculty advisor is Dr. Donald Rockey. If you have any questions or
concerns about this research he can be contacted via email at drockey@coastal.edu.

Participation Agreement:
I have read the information provided above. My signature below indicates my voluntary consent
to participate in the research. Please return one copy of the consent form and keep one for your
records.

_________________________________ _______________
Participant Signature Date
Research Project Proposal 18

Survey instrument

1. How Many days per week did you participate in intramural athletics on campus before the
pandemic?
A. 0 days per week
B. I to 2 days per week
C. 3 to 4 days per week
D. 5 or more days per week

2. The mask mandate protocols caused me to limit my regular exercise?

A. Strongly agree
B. Agree
C. Disagree
D. Strongly disagree

3. The number of people using recreation equipment in my fitness center negatively affected my
exercise habits when I arrived?
A. Strongly agree
B. Agree
C. Disagree
D. Strongly disagree

4. How many days per week did you exercise outdoors before the pandemic?
A. 0 days per week
B. 1 to 2 days per week
C. 3 to 4 days per week
D. 5 or more days per week

5. Campus recreation’s equipment sanitizing protocols negatively affected my frequency of

exercising.
A. Strongly agree
B. Somewhat agree
c. Somewhat disagree
D. Strongly disagree

6. I exercised in my home to avoid exposure or contact with others when my campus recreation
facility reopened.
A. Strongly agree
B. Somewhat agree
C. Somewhat disagree
D. Strongly disagree
Research Project Proposal 19

7. How often have you participated in intramural athletics on campus since your university has
been under COVID restrictions?
A. 0 days per week
B. 1 to 2 days per week
C. 3 to 4 days per week
D. 5 or more days per week Commented [SF1]:

8. I did my best to abide by social distancing guidelines when public places opened up after the
lockdown in 2020.
A. Strongly agree
B. Agree
C. Disagree
D. Strongly disagree

9. I was comfortable going to public places when my community reopened after the lockdown
ended in 2020.
A. Strongly agree
B. Agree
C. Disagree
D. Strongly disagree

10. I was less motivated to exercise at my campus recreation facility after the lockdown ended in
2020.
A. Strongly agree
B. Agree
C. Disagree
D. Strongly disagree

11. I exercised outside more than I had previously when my campus recreation facility reopened
after the lockdown in 2020.
A. Strongly agree
B. Agree
C. Disagree
D. Strongly disagree

12. Overall, I feel like I have exercised less at my campus recreation facility since the onset of the
lockdown in 2020.
A. Strongly agree
B. Agree
C. Disagree
D. Strongly disagree

13. I feel like I exercise more at my campus recreation facility since the COVID restrictions were
removed.
A. Strongly agree
B. Agree
C. Disagree
D. Strongly disagree
Research Project Proposal 20

14. What range does your current GPA fall into?

A. 3.5 – 4.0
B. 3.0 – 3.49
C. 2.5 – 2.99
D. 2.0 – 2.49
E. 1.99 or lower

15. What is your gender?

A. Female
B. Male
C. Other

16. What age range do you fall into?

A. 17 or under
B. 18 – 22
C. 23 – 29
D. 30 or older

17. If you feel comfortable answering, what is your race?

A. Caucasian
B. African American
C. Hispanic
D. Other