Research Methods

Resource depletion

A class of two streams

• Research methods only – 64 and growing• Research methods plus Research Practicum –

14 students • 10.00 to 11.30 an interactive lecture relevant

to both groups• 12.30 – 2.30 RM only - practical tasks in class

around getting the assignments done/• RM+RP Small group tutorials by arrangement

Moodle

• Participant list 64 Research Methods only, 14 Research Practicum

• Assignments• Library Access• Requests for extension: you can do this

electronically, and hopefully we can do this for SAC forms as well

• Gradebook• Student Zone/Tutorial Zone

Some tricky and not-so-tricky issuesNo attendance requirement. Need to be

respectful of others in the class and the teacher, being intentional about your attendance

What happens to the practicum students when we are attending to the large in-class project?

Tutorial support availableForming practicum groups

Issues in Resource Depletion?• Population growth projections• Per capita use of resources• Peak Oil • Carbon or Ecological Footprint• Effects of Climate Change• Environmental degradation and loss of

biodiversity• The evolutionary psychology of change• The politics of change – cultural evolution• The pragmatics of individual change

The problem of doubling

• Put a small piece of paper (one 32th of an A4 page) on the desk, double it for the second , double for the third and so on. How high would the stack of pages be on the 56th student’s desk?

• If we have 7% growth how long is before we double our use of resources? How long before we have 1000 fold increase in the use of our resources

World GDP Growth Rates 2009

Exponential curvesWorld Population Growth, 1750–2150

1920 - 1 billion

1955 - 2 billion

1985 - 4 billion

2035 - 8 billion

Annual growth rate = 3.5%

Actual and Estimated production of oil and gas – Peak Oil

Ecological footprint per person G:\Carbon Footprint Advert.wmv

Land needed for uranium

Land and ocean needed for carbon sequestration

Land needed for housing

Land needed for agriculture (animal food) Ocean needed for fishing Land needed for timber

Land needed for plant foods, biofuels

1961 - 2001

Ecological Footprint• The biocapacity of the Earth =11.2 billion

hectares on a sustainable basis • =1.8 global hectares per person – nothing for

non-humans • In 2001 we used 13.7 billion global hectares,

or 2.2 global hectares per person. • Our Footprint exceeds our biocapacity by 0.4

global hectares per person. • The planet’s living stocks are being depleted

faster than nature can regenerate them

Climate change

melting of the

Artic ice caps

24% lost over 30 years

Sea level rising

Maldives

1000 year drought - Australia

followed by 1000 year floods

Air pollution

Environmental degradation

deforestataion

Risks to biodiversity

Death to biodiversity = death to Humanity

“We are hearing a great deal about the economic ‘credit crunch’. What we face also in the natural world

is a ‘credit crunch for biodiversity’.

We need to set – and then reach - new ambitious targets to value and conserve the fundamental riches

of our life support systems, and the wildlife and people that depend on them”.Julia Marton- Director IUCN

Citation: Vié, J.-C., Hilton-Taylor, C. and Stuart, S.N. (eds.) (2009). Wildlife in a Changing World – An Analysis of the 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. 180 pp.

Rapanui

Rapanui

Evolution of change

• Human behaviour is adapted well to responding to short and medium term threats, but not to long term threats.

• We know about the mechanisms of biological evolution, but very little about cultural evolution G:\Ehrlich_ We Must Change Behavior to Save Global Culture.wmv

• We need to understand the psychology (the effects of incentives) and sociology (e.g. social norming) of behaviour change

Possible mechanisms of change?the ways in which different types of consumer feedback and

information affect sustainability behaviourthe effect of non-economic incentives and disincentives; the impact of social marketing campaigns; G:\How To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint.wmv

the importance of social networks and social movements in shaping sustainability behaviour uptake

the effect of group contingencies and behavioural modelling on individual behaviour;

the significance of commitment to behavioural change; the importance of the social and political context in shaping

individual attitudes and behaviour; the relationship between social status, values and

sustainability behaviour and socio-cultural patterns of sustainability behaviour.

Doing a research project

Research Methods - outcomesExamine literature relating to a chosen question

or hypothesisDecide upon, evaluate and justify an ethical

method of research for a chosen question or hypothesis

Demonstrate a practical mastery of specific qualitative and quantitative research methods exercises

Interpret the findings of research exercisesDefend an aspect of a research proposal or

outcome

Research Topic – Resource Depletion (RD) students

what resources are available for the future?

what resources do we as individuals use (what is our Carbon/ecological Footprint)? and

what meaning do we make of the information about the above?

Research Topic – Practicum (P) students

• Self chosen topic• Working in

groups of two or three

• Research methods course used to prepare for the Research Practicum

Assessment tasks: Whole class group Resource Depletion research project

Weighting

Due date

Partial literature review: A written research essay covering an area of literature that is important to the development of a project

25% 6th April

Method: Collect and transcribe data from one participant

25% 23rd May

Analysis of results: A report thematically analysing an aspect of grouped data

35% 30th June

Presentation: A 5-7 minute presentation on one area of the research project from either the literature review or the analysis of results – 4 seesions

15% 4th April/ 20th June

Assessment tasks: Research Practicum preparation

Weighting

Due date

Literature review: A written research essay covering an introduction to the research hypothesis or question, a justification of the value of committing resources to the hypothesis/question, and a literature review

30% 13th May

Method : A written report on the method proposed for the research and an application to Ethics Committee

15% 17th June

Data Collection and transcription : Interviews, Focus groups, Questionnaires, case studies, etc

10th July

Assessment tasks: Research Practicum preparation

Weighting

Due date

Results analysis: Compiling a demographic profile, breaking data into themes, creating narratives, quantising themes, managing contexts, statistical analysis

24% 15th Augu

st

Discussion, Conclusion and Abstract: Summarising, comparing results against literature, recommendations, etc

19% 1st

Sept

Presentation: A 20-25 minute presentation describing the project ands its outcomes

12% 2nd Dec

Topics and TitlesResource Depletion (RD) group – in small groupsCreate a title for a research

project that looks at • what resources are available

for the future?• what resources do we as

individuals use (what is our Carbon Footprint)? and

• what meaning do we make of the information about the above?

Create a list of things you might have to explore for this project

Practicum (P) groupsIn groups discuss what topics

of research interest you.Create possible titles Create a list of things you

might have to explore for this project

What is a literature review?It defines the words in the title of your research projectIt describes the groups/populations that are most

affected by the events and theories under examination

It gives a sufficient background and/or a history of the topic so that the context of the research can be understood

It analyses the underlying ideas and theories that are suggested by the title

It analyses evidence from other research that supports or denies key theories related to the topic

Your orientationWhat is your response to the

idea that the resources for much of human life will run out?

What is your response to the idea that you as an individual might be using much more than your fair share of resources?

What meanings can you draw from reflecting on the way that you position yourselves in relation to the first two questions?

What is your orientation towards your research topic?

• Direct experience in this area as a person as professional, as an activist

• Beliefs and prejudices about topic or related issues

• Research outcomes you would like

Organise presentation groups