Explanation of Retention Measurement Concept in Motor Skills According to Persian Scientific Research Articles: A Quality Content Analysis

Abstract

Retention is one of the important indicators for inference of learning motor skill. There are some disagreements on the retention measurement concept among experts and researchers of the motor learning area. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to analyze the qualitative content of retention measurement concept in motor skills in Persian scientific research articles between 2009 and 2019. The present study was developmental with a quality content analysis method. 143 articles of Persian scientific research journals were studied, which mentioned the concept of retention. Data were analyzed with Nvivo10 software. Results revealed that there were 47 subsidiary topics and 6 main topics for the retention measurement concept including measurement method of retention concept, number and duration of trials in retention test, number and duration of trials in the acquisition phase, number of warm-up decrement trials, task type and detraining length. Also, the results indicated that there was no agreement among experts about the measurement method of retention concept and its related issues. This topic not only can confuse researchers on how to measure the retention concept in motor behavior area, but also can limit the possibility of comparing different research results and thus makes it hard to decide on optimal practice solutions and methods. Therefore, it is necessary to make specific decisions in this regard by holding symposiums with the participation of experts in the field of motor behavior.

Keywords

• measurement
• motor learning
• motor skill
• qualitative content analysis
• retention