A sports psychologist is working with a baseball team to determine if the implementation of a self-efficacy training program is effective in improving on the field performance. Specifically, the psychologist and coach want to improve the rate of fielding errors on defense. The psychologist believes that by implementing the self-efficacy program, the fielding errors will decrease. Based on previous research, there was a decrease, but that research did not include a before and after design, and it is not clear whether this effect will hold over time. Therefore, for this research, the psychologist has decided to collect data on players (n=12), measuring the number of fielding errors in games as scored officially by the scorekeeper. The researchers have decided that it would be a much more robust study to measure the fielding errors following the first 25% of gains in the season immediately before implementing the training program, then assess the fielding errors for the next 25% of the season following the training program, and again at the following 25% mark. The goal is to determine whether or not the training program is effective over time, and by collecting data points at the 25%, 50%, and 75% marks, it will help them make decisions for the last 25% of the season. Following the assignment instructions, use a repeated-measures ANOVA statistical design using mock/fictitious data to demonstrate how this research might be conducted.

What is the operational definition of the independent and dependent variables?

The independent variable is the Self-Efficacy Training Program.

The dependent variable is the Field Performance.