Postgraduate Course: Analysing the Environment (PGGE11198)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 10 |
| Home subject area | Postgraduate Courses (School of GeoSciences) |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/homes/cryan/eco_services/ |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | Students MUST be studying on the following programmes to be accepted onto the course: MSc in Ecosystem Services, MSc in Environmental Protection & Management, MSc in Food Security, MSc in Soils & Sustainability.
Students on other programmes may be accepted but MUST request this via the course secretary.
This course provides a Master's level introduction to the research approaches and methods that underpin modern social and environmental sciences, with an emphasis on collecting and analysing data. Through a mixture of practicals, group work, lectures and discussion we will explore why and how we do science. The course provides a core set of skills that will be useful to many other courses dealing with empirical science, and in particular is recommended for anyone proposing to conduct a dissertation that involves data collection or analysis. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Students MUST be studying on the following programmes to be accepted onto the course: MSc in Ecosystem Services, MSc in Environmental Protection & Management, MSc in Food Security, MSc in Soils & Sustainability.
Students on other programmes may be accepted but MUST request this via the course secretary. |
| Additional Costs | Additional Programme Costs |
Course Delivery Information
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| Delivery period: 2014/15 Semester 1, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Learn enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
|
Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
| Class Delivery Information |
each 2 hr session is a mixture of lectures and discussion or lab practicals |
| Course Start Date |
15/09/2014 |
| Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 18,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 5,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 5,
Fieldwork Hours 2,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
66 )
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| Additional Notes |
|
| Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
1. An understanding and appreciation that science is not value neutral, and that it is conducted for a variety of reasons and with different beliefs about reality
2. Knowledge and experience of how to plan for, collect, record and organise qualitative and quantitative data
3. The ability to select and then undertake the appropriate type of analysis for a given data set
4. The ability to report your results and analysis in a professional manner appropriate for your audience
5. An understanding of how groups work, and how to analyse your role within them, as well as an awareness of common issues that arise and strategies to resolve them
|
Assessment Information
A1: Short answer, open book test. Set Monday W6, due Monday W7 (40%)
A2: Research report and self-reflection. Due Monday W12 (60%) |
Special Arrangements
Students MUST be studying on the following programmes to be accepted onto the course: MSc in Ecosystem Services, MSc in Environmental Protection & Management, MSc in Food Security, MSc in Soils & Sustainability.
Students on other programmes may be accepted but MUST request this via the course secretary.
Please note that students are not permitted to audit this course. This is because much of the learning takes place during small discussions and lab sessions, and space and resources for these are limited to those enrolled on the course for credit. |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
This course provides an insight and experience of skills sets identified as currently desirable to both the student cohort and employment sector concerned with the wider environment and its study |
| Syllabus |
1. Intro to doing environmental sciences: what and why?
2. How do we do science: 2 perspectives
3. Excel or R training +How to answer your research question by testing a hypothesis
4. How to describe your data (statistically)
5. Looking for differences ¿ categorical data
6. More tests, and how to present results
7. Planning your research
8. Putting your plan into action
9. Fieldwork - no class
10. Analysis of your data
|
| Transferable skills |
1. Organisational skills to plan, execute and report on scientific investigation
2. Use of appropriate computer software (R or Excel) to organise and analyse data
3. Practical experience of collecting data including the use of interviews
4. Interpersonal skills - participating in team activities toward the completion of assignments and goals.
|
| Reading list |
These resources provide an overview of the course. Detailed reading will be provided each week.
Quantitative statistics:
¿ Gardener, M (2011) Statistics for Ecologists Using R and Excel: Data Collection, Exploration, Analysis and Presentation, Pelagic Publishing. UK. [ebook and hard copy from the university library]
https://www.dawsonera.com/abstract/9781907807275
¿ Gotelli and Ellison (2012) A Primer Of Ecological Statistics, Sinauer Associates, Inc.; Second edition. [hard copy in library]
Qualitative approaches:
¿ Flowerdew R. & Martin D. (eds) (1997) Methods in human geography. Pearson Prentice Hall. [e-book, library]
¿ Clifford N. J. & Valentine G. (eds) (2005) Key Methods in Geography. Sage [hard copy, library]
¿ Silverman D. (2011) Interpreting Qualitative Data. 4th edition. Sage [hard copy, library]
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| Study Abroad |
Yes, for some programmes |
| Study Pattern |
2 hours per week for first semester lectures, laboratory classes and computer assisted tutorials. This course is complemented by a week long study tour in April. Study tour will use off campus resources, mixing field work study with class based evaluations. |
| Keywords | Data capture, handling, analysis and reporting, dissertation delivery, field skills, statistics. |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Casey Ryan
Tel: (0131 6)50 7722
Email: casey.ryan@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Olivia Eadie
Tel: (0131 6)51 4657
Email: Olivia.Eadie@ed.ac.uk |
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