Attacks by stray dogs, interference by bystanders or other pedestrians or acts of God will invalidate any given walk which would then have to be repeated to ensure the reliability of the results.

It is the hypothesis of this experiment that a researcher will require more time to complete 500 steps walking uphill than walking on a similar surface that is level.

Results

The results of the three walking experiments on the level sidewalk and the 15-degree hill were compared using a chi-square analysis.

An analysis of the averages and standard deviations is an appropriate analytical technique for this experiment because it provides a researcher with a useful test as to whether frequencies of the phenomena observed match the frequencies that might be expected to occur by chance.

All times were converted from minutes and seconds recorded on the field worksheet into total seconds required for each walk for use with the statistical analysis program for ease of comparison.

The results of the three walking field experiments on the 15-degree hill and the level sidewalk are shown in Table 1 below.

Table 1. Results of Three Walking Field Experiments: 15-deg. hill vs. level sidewalk.

15-degree hill

Time (Min/Sec)

Level...

1 min/12 sec
58 sec

Walk No. 2 min/15 sec min/3 sec

Walk No. 3 min/10 sec

59 sec

The total seconds and averages for each walk are shown in Table 2 and Figure 1 below.

Table 2. Total Seconds and Average Time Required for Each Walk.

15-deg hill level sidewalk

Total Seconds

Walk No. 1

Walk No. 2

Walk No. 3

Average Time Required

Figure 1. Total Seconds and Average Time Required for Each Walk.

The total seconds required for each walk and their respective standard deviations for the totals are provided in Table 3 and Figure 2 below.

Table 3. Total Seconds and Standard Deviation for Totals of Each Walk.

15-deg hill level sidewalk

Total Seconds

Walk No. 1

Walk No. 2

Walk No. 3

Standard Deviation

Figure 2. Total Seconds and Standard Deviation for Totals of Each Walk.

Conclusion

The results of this simple experiment confirmed the hypothesis that walking uphill would require longer, and therefore more physical intensity of movement, than walking on a similar surface that was level.

The preparation of the instrumentation, the development of the procedures and the execution of the steps involved were enlightening from both a research methodology perspective as well as in terms of improving physical fitness.

This approach was found to be a good way to introduce researchers to the steps involved in developing a simple experiment and presenting the findings in an interesting fashion to a wide range of audiences.