Research Memo

Hypothesis:

High school football concussions, I believe, has been rising throughout the years. Some of the teens show no side effects at the time of the concussion, I think, that it will affect them later in life. “Would major concussions in high school football or many little concussions affect their football career?” or “Is high school football helping or hurting teens?” I agree the concussions will affect the teen later in life, so I also believe that to some extent football is hurting teens.

Context:

            The target population that I was going for is high school football player or people who have played high school football in the past. While doing my pilot testing I realized that the only way my surveys will help me is if I give them to my target population. When realizing this I now know that I need to put questions that may relate to other people. This will also help me with my research. I feel that my questions need to be stronger questions so it will make my research stronger.

Results/Data Analysis

Demographic (age, race, gender, location)	Trends (What element is in common with this demographic group?)	Implications (How does this trend help or hurt my hypothesis? What does this mean?
At age 16 what was the level of your concussion?	5 of the 26 people I surveyed at the age of 16 said that their concussions were mild and 2 players said that their concussions were minor.
At age 18 what was the level of your concussion?	2 of the players said that their concussions were mild and none said they were minor.
At age 15 what was the level of your concussion?	5 players said their concussions were mild and 3 said theirs was minor.
9 people	9 people said that they have never had a concussion while playing high school football.
Did the coach keep you off the field after the concussion happened?	15 players said it was true that their coach kept them out if the game and 11 said they did not stay out of the game.
Do you still show side affects now from the concussion?	7 players said they do still show some affects and 19 say they do not show any affects.
Do you remember during or before/after the play after the concussion?	4 players say they do remember and 22 players say they do not remember.
What are the symptoms that you had because of the concussion?	Dizziness- 14 players Mood Disruption- 5 players Throwing up- 5 players Headaches- 12 players Hard time concentrating/remembering/ 10 players Nausa- 6 players

 

Data Analysis:

My strongest point that I found in my surveys was that; the most common symptom of concussions I found was dizziness. Fourteen players had developed this symptom from their concussion. This allows me to realize that through the research that I’ve made, dizziness is the biggest symptom in concussions. This symptom makes it hard for the athlete to concentrate on the things around them and it can have an effect on them later in life. My second strongest point that I have found is that fifteen out of twenty-six players that had received concussions, their coach made them stay out of the rest of the game. This shows me that coaches do realize that letting their players back into the game can be dangerous to the players’ health. My brother, who had a mild concussion when he was eight-teen, was taken out of the rest of the game that was being played and also the teams’ game that was played the next week. The majority of the player’s that I surveyed, their coaches used the smart decision of not letting them continue in the game for the sake of their health. My third strongest point is that, all the players added together not worrying about age; there has been five minor concussions and twelve mild concussions. This lets me know that the concussions can come at different levels depending on how the player was injured. There are two types of concussions, one is a simple concussion and the other is a complex concussion. It is hard to place a player in the complex category because you can never really know how bad the concussion can be. It all depends on how long the players symptoms may last. All three of the concussions can be placed in the simple category, judging by their symptoms that they have given on the survey.    

Conclusion:

Judging by the results I have been given through my survey I would say that football could be hurting teens physically. One player said that because of the shows that it can affect your future life, it might not affect their future football career, but it can affect their lives in general. Honestly I did expect to find more players that have had concussions, but I have found that there are more than the average person might think. I have found out through research that every time you get a concussion the rate of getting another one increases. Which means that the players who get concussions at a young age and have a lot more football ahead of them, are at risk of getting another concussion. That could lead to the rising concussion rates in high school football.

Follow up:

I would now like to take my research farther and find out more information on what positions in football are more vulnerable to receive a concussion and if they can come back in the future. This will lead me to questions like; “What tests can you use to determine a concussion?” “What effect does the concussion have on the brain’s activity in future life?” “What long term damage can it cause to your brain?” “What positions are more likely to get a concussion?” and “How many concussions are treated each season?” These are all questions that I would like to know the answers to because I believe it will help my research get more in depth in the subject. I have not changed my research questions, but I have added on those questions that I think will majorly help my research.