Dr Murray Low

Additional teacher(s): Dr Ryan Centner

This course is available on the BSc in Environment and Development, BSc in Environmental Policy with Economics and BSc in Geography with Economics. This course is not available as an outside option nor to General Course students.

This course is similar to GY2A0 and shares most teaching arrangements with that course. It does not include the week long field-course associated with GY2A0.

This course aims to prepare second year students, who already have some grounding in social science methodology, to undertake individual research projects. It examines the methodologies used in Geographical research and evaluates their application to different kinds of research problems. It considers the choice of methodology which may be used in the student's own Independent Research Project (IRP) and how to plan research. It enables students to acquire familiarity with, and practice of, contemporary research techniques and to examine different ways of, and gain experience in, presenting research results. A further aim of the course is to enable students to evaluate critically the methodological validity of geographical literature.

The course covers a variety of different approaches to social science methodology including: (i) analysis of quantitative data using linear regression including hypothesis testing, (ii) analysis of quantitative spatial data using geographic information systems (GIS) software, (iii) techniques for qualitative data analysis including structured and unstructured interviewing, participant observation, and research ethics, including research ethics when conducting fieldwork (vi) techniques for the economic analysis of environmental issues; and (v) techniques for designing, carrying out and presenting an Independent Research Project

15 hours of lectures, 6 hours of classes and 6 hours of classes in the MT. 10 hours of lectures and 9 hours of classes in the LT.

GY240 shares most teaching arrangements with GY2A0.

In the MT classes, and during the field-course, students work on elements of the summative assessment for the course with opportunities for support and feedback from staff as they do so.  In addition, there is one piece of formative assessment (no more than 1000 words) in each term.

Assigned readings may include: A H Studemund (2001 or later edition) Using Econometrics: A Practical Guide; J Bell, Doing your Research Project - Guide for first time researchers in education and social science (2nd edition), 1993; J Burt & G Barber, Elementary Statistics for Geographers, 1996; I Heywood, S Cornelius & S Carver, An Introduction to GIS, 1998; P Kennedy, A Guide to Econometrics, 1985; A MacEachren, Some truth with maps: a primer on symbolization and design, 1994; K G Esterberg, Qualitative methods in social research, 2002; I Hay (Ed), Qualitative research methods in human geography, 2010.

Students unfamiliar with basic inferential statistics and/or those who anticipate difficulty with the linear regression analysis component of the course in Michaelmas Term weeks 1-5 should prepare in advance by studying Chapter 16: Statistical Principles in Studemund, A H (2000) 'Using Econometrics: A Practical Guide.' Fourth edition (or later). Boston: Addison Wesley. or a similar text.

Project (50%) and other (15%) in the LT.
Project (35%) in the ST.

(i) Quantitative methods/Geographical Information Systems project (50%)

(ii) Project in environmental and economic analysis (35%)

(iii) Proposal for 3rd Year Independent Research Project (15%)