EVPP 630: Research Design for Environmental Social Scientists

This course will introduce students to research design considerations and how they fit into the scientific method, focusing on applications to environmental social scientific questions. We will explore the logic of making inferences about relationships between different socioecological factors and how these inferences lead to the accumulation of scientific knowledge. Students will explore the following: developing research questions, measurement, sampling, inference, ethics, and how different quantitative and qualitative methods fit in the research process. The course is organized around hands-on learning, with the goal that by the end of the course, students will have produced by themselves or with their peers an implementable research design on an environmental social science question. Offered by Environmental Science & Policy. May not be repeated for credit.