Contents:
In this course students study research design and methodology for interdisciplinary inquiry in the environmental sciences. Students will be prepared to think critically and systematically and to reflect on the trade-offs of methodological choices in research design in the interdisciplinary environmental sciences. There is a strong focus on methodology as an interrelated series of transparently justified, subjective, theory-dependent choices appropriate to context and purpose, rather than a fixed, technical set of rules leading to ‘objective scientific truth’. The knowledge that students gain on a theoretical level is applied in developing components of several designs for a practical and relevant research challenge. After laying out the fundamentals and characteristics of scientific methodology, we discuss how to choose a research topic, formulate research objectives, specify questions and then operationalize their key concepts into concrete variables and measurement strategies. Using examples from the environmental sciences, through which we improve students’ ability to read articles critically, we discuss three research designs (experimental, cross-sectional, longitudinal), various sampling strategies and data collection methods.
Learning outcomes:
After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
- explain the difference between a conceptual and a technical research design;
- describe the defining features of an experimental, cross-sectional, and longitudinal design;
- discuss the operationalization of one- and multidimensional concepts;
- understand reasons and strategies for random and non-random sampling;
- describe the pros and cons of the taught methods of data collection;
- understand the conditions that must be met for causal claims;
- discuss the reliability and validity of measurements;
- contribute to interdisciplinary research designs for the environmental sciences;
- critically read scientific literature.
