The literature review summarizes 7 papers related to cricket bat design. The papers investigated factors like impact location, bat designs from different eras, adding inserts to improve performance, reliability of tapping tests to assess bats, identifying the sweet spot for low speed impacts, comparing standard and novel bat designs, and validity of rigid body impact models. Key findings included identifying a "sweet region" on the bat face for optimal ball speed and direction, newer bat designs providing a performance advantage, inserts improving performance without changing the profile, tapping tests not being a reliable measure across participants, impacts near the center and middle of the bat providing highest rebound speeds and coefficients of restitution, novel designs redistributing mass away from the axis to increase moment of inertia

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Roll No.
KONGU ENGINEERING COLLEGE, PERUNDURAI 638 060
ODD SEMESTER 2018-2019
CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT TEST I
(Regulations 2018)
Programme : M.E
Branch : CIVIL, MECHANICAL,MECHATRONICS,
FOOD TECH & E&I
Semester : I
Date :
Time :
Course Code : 18GET01
Course Name : Introduction to Research
Duration : 3 Hours
Max. Marks : 100
ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS (5 × 20 = 100 Marks)
Research & Accreditation
1 a QS rankings, NBA & NAAC - What it actually means? How research component included in those
assessment?
3 [CO1,K2]
b List different types of research and whether keywords are necessary for a research? 4 [CO1,K2]
c Arrange the following steps into their expected sequence in the general research process.
Step 1 Define topic
Step 2 Analyze data
Step 3 Formulate questions
Step 4 Select design and methods
Step 5 Collect data
Step 6 Write report
Step 7 Search literature
Step 8 Select units of study
3 [CO1,K5]
d From the below text, which were written by a researcher to describe his research work in general social
science, and decide whether they contain any of the listed characteristics of research using scientific
method. If you can find them in the texts, summarize in a few words:
State the main question or problem.
What was their main goal or objectives of the research
How the research work was carried out?
What was their the main conclusion(s)?
From the literature what they concluded?
Frame 5 suitable key words for their research
The present study aims to quantify the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)
and risks among male kitchen workers in the catering industry. Data were collected with the help of the
Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire and by direct observations. In total, 114 male kitchen workers from
various hostels of a college in South India were considered for this study. The average age and mean
years of employment of the workers are 26.4 (SD 7.7) and 7.8 respectively. The statistical analysis carried
out reveals that 67.5% of male kitchen workers reported MSDs during the past 12 months. The highest
prevalence rate has been found in the lower back (65.8%) and shoulder region (62.3%). Among different
categories of kitchen work analyzed, it is evident that chief cooks suffer more from MSDs (79.2%) than
10 [CO1,K5]

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assistant cooks (74.3%) and kitchen aides (30.0%).Workers in the older group, i.e., ≥41 years, and
workers with 6–10 years of experience suffer with higher risk of MSDs, i.e., 93.9% and 87.5%,
respectively. The male kitchen workers who participated in this research were found to possess both
MSDs and ergonomic hazards.
The occurrence of psychosocial factors related to the job and work environment plays a
significant role in the development of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) in the upper
extremity and back. The previous investigation identifies the risk of low-back disorders related to heavy
physical work, static work posture, awkward posture, force exertion, lifting, etc. In particular, the
repetitive monotonous work involving hand force and wrist action is considered a risk factor for hand–
wrist disorders. The repetition of task, force, posture, etc., increases the risk for carpal tunnel syndrome
(CTS), epicondylitis, shoulder tendonitis and neck/shoulder musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).[1] A case
study was reported which involved vibrating handheld tools, repetitive wrist movements and heavy
manual work CTS.[2] The studies related to kitchen workers revealed that 84% of participants possess
WMSD with a high prevalence of shoulder (58%), neck (54%), lower back/waist (53%) and finger/waist
(46.5%) disorders compared with workers working in the other sections of a hotel restaurant in
Taiwan.[3] The report also stated the high prevalence of WMSDs for the shoulder (41.1%), hands/wrists
(38.2%) and lower back (40.1%) among food service workers in Taiwan.[4]. A previous study examined
the role of physical workload, leisure-time physical activity, obesity and smoking in predicting the
occurrence and course of multisite musculoskeletal pain among kitchen workers.[5] The physical
workload causes shoulder symptoms among professional kitchen workers.[6] Hence, cooks are pushed to
a higher risk of having MSD complaints. Lifestyle and occupational factors such as workplace
environment, workload, job stress, etc., are related to this higher prevalence.[7– 9] Kitchen workers are
facing higher mental stress and multiple-site musculoskeletal pain.[10] The lack of epidemiological
information about WMSDs in the catering industry is apparent. Further studies are needed to investigate
the relationship among prevalence, risk factors and forms of WMSDs, in particular the interaction of risk
factors in psychosocial aspects of the catering industry.[11] Previous studies show the presence of
WMSDs in different ratios among kitchen workers. The aim of this present study is to identify the
discomfort level in various body regions. The study also investigates the association between the personal
characteristics, physical workload, psychosocial factors and workplace characteristics with complaints of
the lower back, upper back, shoulder, neck, hand/wrist, thigh, knee and foot among male kitchen workers.
Journals & Paper
2 a From the below mentioned two journals, which one will be termed as referred or quality journal? On what
basis you identified?
Journal 1. Indian Journal of Medical Research
The journal is indexed with, or included in, the following:
DOAJ, Index Copernicus, Index Medicus for South-East Asia Region, Indian Science Abstracts, IndMed,
MEDLINE/Index Medicus, PubMed Central, Scimago Journal Ranking, Scopus, Science Citation Index
Expanded, Web of Science
Journal 2. International Journal of Medicine Research
The journal is indexed with, or included in, the following:
J-Gate, CiteFactor, CiteSeer, IndianScience, EBSCO, ProQuest, RJI Factor, DOAJ, ROAD, ICI, Scribd,
Croddref, Directory of Science, Research Gate, Academic Keys, Academic Search, Scientific Commons,
DBLP, CAS, Google Scholar, Advanced Science Index, NCBI, Pubshub, Linkedin, ISSUU, Hinari,
Sensei, ORCID.
3 [CO2,K4]
b You are planning to write an original research article, briefly discuss about the anatomy or the necessary
elements should be in a paper with important points in each element. 10 [CO2,K2]
c From the below two Google scholar profile, find the h-index of the authors and What h- index refers to?
3 [CO2,K4]

3. 3
Author 1
Author 2
d
4 [CO2,K4]

4. 4
Details about ASME Journal of Tribology publication is given below; Compute its 2018 impact factor
and explain how you computed?
Year Month
& Issue
No of Papers
Published
Total Referred
Citations upto
2018
Jan 2016 Vol. 138, Issue 1 31 47
April 2016 Vol. 138, Issue 2 26 39
July 2016 Vol. 138, Issue 3 38 57
Oct 2016 Vol. 138, Issue 4 23 35
Jan 2017 Vol. 139, Issue 1 26 39
Mar 2017 Vol. 139, Issue 2 26 40
May 2017 Vol. 139, Issue 3 28 37
July 2017 Vol. 139, Issue 4 18 24
Author, Editor, Reviewer
3 a State the responsibility as well as role of the above three in publishing a journal paper. 3 [CO3,K2]
b With reference to the above three, discuss about the single blind and double blind review process. 3 [CO3,K2]
c With reference to the above three, who is responsible for checking plagiarism? Actually what plagiarism
refers to? List any two software's that detect plagiarism.
4 [CO3,K5]
d You are planning to submit a original research article to a referred journal, briefly explain by using a
flowchart about the review process that typically followed by any journal in detail.
Your answer should include all the above three persons role. Also if our parent university (ANNA
University) finds a Ph.D scholar involved in plagiarism, what action will be taken as per clause 23?
10 [CO3,K2]
Cricket & Research
4 a From the below 10 abstracts of the papers, consolidate your findings in tabular form. 3 [CO3,K4]
b Assume that you are an researcher working related to cricket bat design; from the below abstracts finalize
or propose an idea for your research work.
3 [CO3,K5]
c Write the reference section of the below papers using Harvard style.
{Note the reference style given is Chicago format}
4 [CO3,K2]
d Write the literature survey section of your paper related to cricket bat design from the below given
abstracts. (Maximum 300 Words - Cite papers using Harvard style)
Paper 1 - Peploe, Chris, S. A. McErlain-Naylor, Andy R. Harland, and Mark A. King. "The
relationships between impact location and post-impact ball speed, bat torsion, and ball direction in
cricket batting." Journal of sports sciences 36, no. 12 (2018): 1407-1414.
Three-dimensional kinematic data of bat and ball were recorded for 239 individual shots
performed by twenty batsmen ranging from club to international standard. The impact location of the ball
on the bat face was determined and assessed against the resultant instantaneous post-impact ball speed
and measures of post-impact bat torsion and ball direction. Significant negative linear relationships were
found between post-impact ball speed and the absolute distance of impact from the midline medio-
laterally and sweetspot longitudinally. Significant cubic relationships were found between the distance of
impact from the midline of the bat medio-laterally and both a measure of bat torsion and the post-impact
ball direction. A “sweet region” on the bat face was identified whereby impacts within 2 cm of the
sweetspot in the medio-lateral direction, and 4.5 cm in the longitudinal direction, caused reductions in
ball speed of less than 6% from the optimal value, and deviations in ball direction of less than 10° from
the intended target. This study provides a greater understanding of the margin for error afforded to
batsmen, allowing researchers to assess shot success in more detail, and highlights the importance of
players generating consistently central impact locations when hitting for optimal performance.
10 [CO3,K4]

5. 5
Paper 2 - Eftaxiopoulou, Theofano, Lomas Persad, and Anthony MJ Bull. "Assessment of
performance parameters of a series of five ‘historical’cricket bat designs." Proceedings of the
Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part P: Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology 231,
no. 1 (2017): 57-62.
The performance of five different bat designs, from different eras spanning from 1905 to 2013,
was assessed to address the question whether the changes in bat design over the years have resulted in a
performance advantage to the batsman. Moment of inertia and „freely suspended‟ vibration analysis tests
were conducted, as these physical properties have been directly associated with rebound characteristics of
the bats. Results showed that changes in the blade‟s profile such as distribution of the blade‟s weight
along the edges and closer to the toe have resulted in a clear performance advantage of the newest bats in
comparison with older designs. These results add to the weight of evidence in cricket that the game has
changed to the benefit of the batsman and additional changes to bat design are conceivable as modern
engineering tools are applied to further optimise performance.
Paper 3 - Kilpatrick, Tony, Luke Mulcahy, and Aaron Blicblau. "Improving the performance of
cricket bats: An experimental and modelling approach." Sensoria: A Journal of Mind, Brain &
Culture 12, no. 2 (2016).
The aim of the present work was to characterise the difference in the sweet spot of a standard and
modified (bat with pre-stressed wooden inserts) cricket bat, as utilised by amateur batsmen facing
amateur bowlers. The project was divided into three parts, experimental, analytical analysis and finite
element modelling. An experimental bat and ball test apparatus was developed to measure the difference
in performance of a cricket bat with and without modifications. The outcomes of this work showed that
the addition of a specified insert in the sides of a cricket bat can significantly improve a cricket bat's
performance. The potential to use this type of insert could be employed in any design of bat to improve its
performance without any additional modifications to the profile of the existing layout.
Paper 4 - Curtis, David, Georgina Hurt, and Ben Heller. "The reliability of a tapping test as an
indicator of cricket bat performance." Procedia Engineering 72 (2014): 666-671.
Within the sport of cricket it is common practice for players to tap the blade of a bat with a hard
wood mallet or cricket ball to gauge its potential playing performance. This subjective assessment can
produce contradictory opinions on the same bat. The aim of this study was to investigate the reliability of
the „tapping‟ test in rating the potential performance of cricket bats. This was done by comparing a
measurable performance indicator (apparent coefficient of restitution, ACoR) to player assessment.
Twenty experienced amateur and semi-pro cricketers completed a scaled-response questionnaire to
describe the sound and feel of impact during the „tapping‟ test, and rate the predicted performance.
Correlations between player responses and ACoR were explored. Predicted bat performance by three out
of twenty participants showed correlation with ACoR. It was concluded that the tapping test is not a
reliable measure of bat performance across the study population. There are indications that individuals
can correctly differentiate bats, but there is clear evidence that they also make errors. A further study with
a larger number of participants and an exploration of the relative influence of sensory response will yield
further insights to this pilot study.
Paper 5 - Bower, Rob. "The sweet spot of a cricket bat for low speed impacts." Sports
Engineering 15, no. 2 (2012): 53-60.
The impact location of a cricket ball on a cricket bat has a large influence on the resulting
rebound velocity of the ball. To measure this, a cricket bat was swung in a pendulum motion towards a
cricket ball suspended in space. The position of the ball was modified so that it impacted the bat at 24
different positions on the face of the bat. This included six positions longitudinally and four positions
laterally. The speed of the bat and each rebound were measured by a radar gun so that the apparent
coefficient of restitution (ACOR) could be calculated. Impacts occurring centrally and 1 cm either side
of the midline produced significantly higher rebound speeds and ACOR‟s than impacts occurring 2 and
3cm off centre (p < 0.01). Impacts occurring 15–20 cm from the base of the bat produced the highest
rebound speeds (p < 0.01) and impacts occurring 20–30 cm from the base of the bat produced the
highest ACOR values. Implications for higher speed impacts and game scenarios are discussed.

6. 6
Paper 6 - Eftaxiopoulou, T., A. Narayanan, J. P. Dear, and A. M. J. Bull. "A performance
comparison between cricket bat designs." Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers,
Part P: Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology 226, no. 1 (2012): 16-23.
Seven cricket bats, four standard and three significantly different designs, were tested for a set of
mechanical properties: equivalent bending stiffness, moment of inertia, and freely-suspended vibration.
These properties are known to be related to the performance of the cricket bats in terms of pick up weight,
vibrations imparted to the batsman, and energy imparted to the cricket ball. The aim of this work was to
determine whether these novel designs improve the bat‟s performance parameters. Intuitively correctly,
results showed that by redistributing the mass of the bat further away from the rotational axis the moment
of inertia increases. This results in an increase of the ball‟s rebound speed after collision. Carbon fibres
inserted in the handle of the bat were found to improve its vibrational performance and provide the
advantage of having a stiffer blade combined with a relatively less-stiff handle, which is an optimum for
imparting maximum energy to the ball.
Paper 7 - James, David, David Curtis, Tom Allen, and Tom Rippin. "The validity of a rigid body
model of a cricket ball-bat impact." Procedia engineering 34 (2012): 682-687.
Rigid body impact models have been used in a number of racket and bat sports to better
understand how physical properties such as mass, moment of inertia and balance point can affect ball
rebound speed. Cricket is sport whereby players can select their preferred bat with a wide range of
different physical properties. No previous studies have attempted to validate the use of rigid body impact
models in cricket, and player choices are typically made through intuition with little consideration of
impact mechanics. This study measured the performance of three different cricket bats in freely
suspended impact tests, and compared the results to predictions made by a rigid body model. Ball
rebound speed was measured using high speed video on impacts locations across the blade. The physical
properties of the different bats were measured and used as the input for the rigid body model predictions.
It was found that for impact locations close to the bat‟s centre of mass, the rigid body model worked well,
but some discrepancies were found as the impact location moved away from the centre of mass. These
discrepancies were believed to be caused by the large vibrations evident during the impacts (a clear
violation of the model‟s rigid body assumption) and the erroneous method that was employed to measure
the bats coefficient of restitution. It was concluded that using a rigid body model to describe the impact of
a cricket ball with a cricket bat is valid as a first approximation and that it has significant value in terms of
exploring how changing a bat‟s physical properties may affect its performance.
Paper 8 - Smith, Lloyd, and Harsimranjeet Singh. "An Examination of Cricket Bat Performance
(P92)." In The Engineering of Sport 7, pp. 475-482. Springer, Paris, 2009.
The aims of this study were to experimentally measure and numerically describe the
performance of cricket bats and balls. A dynamic finite element model was employed to simulate the
bat-ball impact. The ball was modeled as a linear viscoelastic material which provided the mechanism
of energy loss during impact. An experimental test apparatus was developed to measure the
performance of cricket bats and balls under dynamic impact conditions representative of play.
Experiments were conducted to measure the elasticity and hardness of the cricket balls as a function of
incoming speed. A bat-performance measure was derived in terms of an ideal batted-ball speed based
on play conditions. The model found good agreement with experimental data for a number of impact
conditions. A composite skin, applied to the back of some bats, was observed to increase performance
experimentally and in the numerical model. While different treatments and designs typical of cricket
bats had a measurable effect on performance, they were much smaller than the 10% difference
observed between some solid-wood and hollow baseball and softball bats.
Paper 9 - Stretch RA, Brink A and Hugo J. A comparison of the ball rebound characteristics of
wooden and composite cricket bats at three approach speeds. Sports Biomech 2005; 4(1): 37–45.
The primary aim of this study was to compare the rebound characteristics of wooden and
composite cricket bats. The rebound characteristics of two „experimental‟ bats manufactured from
composite material were compared with three English willow bats and one Kashmir willow bat. The bats

7. 7
were tested using a specially designed testing rig, which propelled a 156 g Kookaburra cricket ball at
three impact speeds: fast‐medium, 67 km.h‐1
; fast, 101 km.h‐1
; and express, 131 km.h‐1
on to the bats
mounted in position so that the ball impacts occurred at the position where the blade of the bats was the
thickest. The rebound characteristics of the bats were calculated by measuring the approach and rebound
speeds of the ball as it passed through a light beam positioned a short distance away from the point of
impact. The statistical software package SAS® was used to test for significant differences (p < 0.05)
between the average rebound characteristics of the bats. Further, Scheffé's method was used as a post hoc
comparison to determine whether differences existed between the composite and willow bats. When the
composite and traditional willow bats were compared, the results showed no significant differences
between the three average approach speeds, while the composite bats showed significantly smaller
rebound speeds and coefficient of restitution at all three approach speeds. Thus, the rebound
characteristics of the composite bats were significantly less than the traditionally designed English willow
wooden bats and would not enhance performance by allowing the batsman to hit the ball harder, assuming
all other factors, such as bat speed, mass distribution and the impact point, were the same for the bats.
Further study is required to determine the physical properties of composite and wooden bats to enhance
their impact characteristics.
Paper 10 - Gutaj F. A comparison of methods for modelling the dynamics of a cricket bat. Proc
IMechE, Part C: J Mechanical Engineering Science 2004; 218(12): 1457– 1468
The dynamic characteristics of a cricket bat may be quantified using different modelling methods
ranging from rigid-body models, flexible beam models, finite element (FE) models and modal models.
This paper compares three models of a cricket bat. The first is an experimentally validated FE model. The
validation of the FE model is described via correlation and mapping of results from experimental modal
testing to FE calculated results via optimization procedures. Using the methodology described here, the
actual bat dynamic characteristics can be identified to a reasonable level. The second and third models
included a tapered and uniform beam model of the cricket bat. Although not predicting the frequencies of
vibration of the higher modes as accurately as the FE model, the uniform beam model was useful as it
provided a means for correlation of the taper model for the case when the condition of zero taper is
approached. Results from parameter sensitivity analyses with each beam model were used to gain an
insight into the influence of geometric and material properties on bat vibration characteristics. The
combined use of beam model results and FE modelling was found to be an efficient means for quantifying
the effect of material and geometric variations on bat dynamic characteristics. With the experimental,
numerical and theoretical techniques presented in this paper, the aim of providing an informed choice for
alternative bat designs was achieved.
Research & Methodologies
5 a After preparing your review paper or original research article, on what basis you will select a journal to
upload for further review process? (include APC as one parameter)
3 [CO2,K2]
b How outcomes of a research will be measured. What you will conclude as a visible research output? 3 [CO1,K2]
c List top 10 publishers publishing reputed journal in your area of research or indicate the journal name.
Also, discuss how you identified those ten as reputed publisher?
4 [CO2,K2]
d Elaborate the steps in detail about the methodology used to formulate a research problem (problem
formulation techniques) using literatures or other sources (or formulate a research problem from your
REVIEW paper as a case study)
10 [CO1,K4]