ENST20001 Human Behaviour and Environment
report代做 | 代做essay| 文科代写 – 本题是一个essay的代做, 涉及了Human Behaviour and Environment等代写方面, 这个项目是assignment代写的代写题目
Research report 1: Exploring the psychological basis of human-environment relationships
Word limit: 1500 words (+/- 10%) excluding reference list, interviewee quotes and transcripts of interviews
Submission: Electronic copy submitted online through LMS (in the Assignments link)
Assessment weighting: 35 % of final grade.
Penalty for late submission: 5% per day
Objective
The Objective of this assignment is to explore and understand some psychological factors that shape human- environment relationships. You will draw on theories regarding biological, social and cognitive aspects of human- environment relationships, considering how these do (or do not) to explain the way one person describes their relationship with a type of environment or non-human species.
Learning outcomes
Through completing this assignment, you will develop:
- a deeper understanding of theories of human-environment relationships and how these apply to topics of interest to you
- a better understanding of how people relate to environments
- basic research skills for understanding human-environment interactions, including: o introductory level skills in qualitative data collection and analysis o skills for reporting social scientific information and applying this to questions about human- environment interactions
Task
In this project you research the factors that shape a persons relationship with a specific type of environment or a non-human species. You will answer the general research question:
In what ways do psychological factors shape one persons relationship with a type of environment or a
non-human species?
Further advice on this assignment is provided on pages 3- 6.
Assessment criteria
Read through these criteria before preparing your report since you will be assessed against these:
Clear argument and
effective use of
evidence (2 5 %)
- States the research question and aim clearly (and in line with assignment instructions)
- Explains the relevance of that research question to the environment or species selected
- Expresses a clear argument throughout the paper in response to the stated research question
- Defends the argument effectively with evidence from academic publications and empirical observation
- Selects theory and past research that is relevant to the aim and topic, and explains how it is relevant
- Explains implications of methods (selection of participant, design of questions, analysis of data) for achieving the aim
- Organises and explains data analysis in relation to the stated aim and research question
- Develops conclusions that directly relate to the stated research question and are based on the findings presented Understanding of theory (30%)
- Defines and explains all key terms or with explicit reference to subject readings
- Demonstrates breadth of understanding of theory that is appropriate to the aim (i.e. covers all necessary concepts necessary to the aim, and irrelevant concepts are not included)
- Demonstrates evidence of broad reading, drawing on multiple sources including required subject readings and academic articles reporting relevant empirical studies
- Explains relevance and quality of any empirical research through brief account of the aim, methods, and results of that work
- Synthesises knowledge from different published sources (e.g. organising, comparing, criticising)
- Proposes hypotheses or expectations of findings that are plausible based on analysis theory and empirical studies described
- Interprets data with correct reference to theory, showing where this confirms, extends or challenges the concepts in published literature Understanding and appropriate application of basic social science methods (25%)
- Describes methods comprehensively yet succinctly
- Conducts data collection in a way that allows insights to participants perspective and is consistent with assignment requirements, as evidenced by interview transcript [and field notes Research Report 2 only]
- Analyses interview with appropriate attention to the research question, theory, and sensitivity to language, behaviour and context of the participant, as evidenced by results section and coding table
- Selects appropriate quotes from interview transcript [and field notes in Research Report 2 only] to defend interpretations, and presents these appropriately (contextualised, explained)
- Evaluates strengths and weaknesses of methods used in the study and dr aws appropriate conclusions (i.e. not results are not generalised inappropriately, causal relationships are not claimed where these cannot be defended). Effective scientific writing (20%)
- Structures the report clearly, with appropriate headings and subheadings
- Expresses ideas clearly with logical flow of well-structured paragraphs, professional language, with correct spelling and grammar.
- Complies with word limits as set for the assignment
- Attributes and cites sources correctly and in APA style (both intext and in reference list). Note that failure to acknowledge sources will be penalised in line with University academic honesty processes. https://academicintegrity.unimelb.edu.au/
Advice on completing this assignment
1 Preparing for data collection
1.1 Set topic and specific research question/s
Choose one topic for your research. This should be a type of environment or a non-human species.
- If you focus on a type of environment, you should select a well-defined category of landscape or built environment (for example Australian tropical rainforests, native grasslands, urban passive use parklands, beaches, wind farms, places of worship, hospitals, or large suburban shopping centres)
- If you focus on a non-human species, you should select one species or otherwise well-defined category of animal, plant etc. (for example flying foxes, wolves or elephants, Woolam AI Pine, fungi, native orchids).
You can select a topic that is of interest to you (within the bounds noted above), but please discuss this topic with your tutor on the relevant Discussion Board. In choosing a topic, please consider whether past research (evidence) has been undertaken on the topic (or closely related topics) as you will need to include evidence from such research in the background section of your report.
Determine the research question you will answer through your research, following the model of the general research questions stated on page 1 and specifying the topic you have chosen to study. For example, if you choose to investigate Australian native grasslands, your research question would be: In what ways do psychological factors shape one persons relationship with Australian native grasslands?
1.2 Read background information
Before you start, ensure you understand the theory and past research that informs the question you will investigate.
- Ensure you have read the required readings for Topics 1- 4 , which cover key general theories on human environment relationships, including biological, social and cognitive factors that shape these relationships. Orient your literature search, reading, interviews and analysis around the psychological concepts covered in topics 1-4. If you do not address these factors in your research report, you cannot do well.
- Search for and read academic research on similar topics to the one you will address. For example, if your research question is concerned with relationships with a native grassland, you will find research exa mining the ways that people perceive or value native grasslands or prairie, and the factors that shape this concern. If your research question is concerned with relationships with flying foxes, you should find research exploring human connections with bats. Particularly search for academic, empirical research on this topic (Research that is published in a peer reviewed journal and was based on observation – perhaps through interviews, surveys or document analysis – of relevant attitudes, perceptions or valuing). 1. 3 Preparing for the interview
You need to interview one person about their views on the environment or species of interest to you. This interview should be conducted in face-to-face. Interviews must be documented in detail (transcribed and included in your report as an appendix).
Plan your interview: If your interviewee is unfamiliar with your topic (environment/species), you may want to select some photographs to use in your interview. Your interview questions should allow you to understand the links between the key theories and the topic you are exploring, so make sure your interview questions examine different facets of the theory that are relevant. Some questions are provided below these are not comprehensive. You should consider which of these are relevant to your topic and research questions. Adapt the questions to suit these and develop your own questions that are likely to make good links between theory and the topic. Once you have decided on questions, it is a good idea to practice asking them with someone from the class. Some people give very short answers to these kinds of questions. Practice using the prompts to get people to expand on their answers.
Interview questions for adapting:
- Before today, were you aware of [the environment/species]?
- What are your general thoughts and feelings on [the environment/species]?
- What are five words that come to mind when you think of [the environment/species]?
- What aspects of the [the environment/species] do you like?
- What aspects do you not like?
- Why do you think you feel that way?
- How do you think this [environment/species] should be managed?
- Why do you think that?
- If the interviewee was aware of topic before this interview, you could also ask the following questions: o How did you first become aware of [the environment/species]? o What was your initial impression or thoughts and feelings at that time? o Have your views changed since then? o What has influenced your views on [the environment/species]? o Have you ever discussed this [environment/species] with other people? What do your friends/colleagues/others think about it? How have their views influenced you? o Have you ever seen any information about this [environment/species]? How has that influenced the way you think or feel about it? 2. Collecting the data:
2.1 Select and recruit your participant.
It will help if the person you invite to participate has some knowledge or familiarity with the type of environment/species you are investigating. You will get the most out of this assignment if this person you interview is different to yourself (consider age, cultural background, but particularly their concern or action in regard to the environment). The person may be a friend, relative or acquaintance but MUST be over 18 years of age. He or she should not be in a dependent relationship with you (e.g. they must not be someone you employ or supervise).
2.2 Explain the project
Before asking the person to take part in an interview you must provide information, so the person can decide whether or not they consent to participating. Explain that the project is part of coursework for this subject and explain the purpose of the project (to investigate how people relate to an environment or non-human species) and what involvement is required (e.g. participate in an interview of approximately 10 minutes regarding views on this topic). Emphasise that participation is voluntary, that the interview will be recorded in detail, and that you will be
reporting on the interview in an assignment and not using it in any other way. If he/she is not willing to participate, thank them for their time and ask someone else.
2.3 Conduct the interview
In many cases this can be done at the same time as recruitment since the interview is quite short.
2.4 Transcribe the interview.
Copy down the interview word for word.
3. Analyse the data
Keep in mind your overall research question your analysis needs to be targeted to answer this question, and to make links between the theory and the topic as seen through the eyes of your participant.
Tutorials will cover basic approaches to qualitative data analysis, and the reading list provides additional support. But some ideas to keep in mind as you analyse the data:
- Get familiar with the data and the task: Clarify goal of the analysis (specifically, to answer your research question), read through several times taking note of anything that stands out in relation to your research question
- Open coding: Work through the data noting all the ideas (relevant to the subject and research question) that you notice in the interview transcript. Look for evidence of possible psychological factors shaping the relationship of concern, keeping in mind the theory you have read, while also staying open to new ideas. Mark or highlight sections of the transcript and note what ideas you see reflected in those sections. Write down a list of all these ideas (these are codes).
- Categorisation: Review, organise and refine codes you have noted, and form these into themes. In categorising codes into themes, consider: Do any codes overlap or seem closely related in some way? Are some codes too broad to be meaningful? How do codes relate to the theory? In refining your themes, consider: Does theory suggest a way to define or describe these themes? How can you organise the themes in a way that helps answer the research question?
- Document: Finalise your categorisation of themes in a coding table (we will look at these in tutorials), summarising each theme, its definition and examples from the interview.
- Interpret these themes in relation to your research question and subject concepts: What factors noted in theory appear to play a role in shaping the relationship? Consider biological, social and cognitive factors covered in readings and lectures. Do some factors appear to be more important than others? Do some of the reasons given or changes seem to have little relationship to the theory, and are perhaps better explained by other factors? 4. Prepare your report
Structure your report in the following way: Note: (word counts are suggested only)
Introduction (450-550 words): This section should state the aim of the investigation (the key research question, adapted for your purposes), draw on theory and empirical research to explain the reason for posing this question and what you expect to find, and outline what other researchers have found regarding your key research question (as much as possible, select and explain published research on your topics similar to your own where there is none, provide examples from related research). Make sure you appropriately reference the reading material you draw on.
Method (200-250 words): Describe the way you collected the data for this assignment. Briefly describe the type of person interviewed (simply approximate age and education/work background and any other relevant information). Explain briefly how and why you selected this person. How did you collect the data (i.e. face-to-face interview, how long did it take, what questions were asked)? Try to make this description brief but comprehensive. How did you analyse the data? In writing scientific reports we aim for transparency and repeatability, so provide sufficient details so that the reader could potentially repeat the procedure. Dont include any irrelevant information.
Results and discussion (500-600 words): Present your analysis in a way that helps answer the research question, noting the suggested approach to analysis above. Its really important that you provide evidence to support your observations in this section. With qualitative research, evidence is provided in the form of words spoken by the participants (quotes). Dont paste in the whole interview but select short sections of answers that demonstrate the point you are trying to make. Include some explanation of the context to make it clear what was being referred to. Where the observations support or challenge the theory in readings, comment on this.
Include the full text of your interview in an appendix.
Conclusion (250 – 250 words): In this section, answer the research question as best as you are able. Give a short summary of the factors influencing relationships with the environment/species as evident in your study. Comment on any limitations of the study.
References: Make sure you list the readings you have referred to in your report, using an appropriate citation method. Citations should follow the APA style (excluded from the word limit).
Appendices: Include the interview transcript and coding table as appendices. These are excluded from the word limit.
5. A note about research ethics in reporting:
For reasons of privacy, you should present your methods, results and interview transcript in ways that protect the identity of the person you interview. For example, dont use their name in your report you can use pseudonyms (made up names) if it makes it easier to organise information in your assignment. Similarly, you may need to disguise other information that could be used to identify the interviewee for example, it may be best to disguise information about organisations with which your participant is involved.
6. A note about academic honesty and integrity:
Academic integrity and honesty are at the heart of our universitys values and practice. The University defines Academic integrity as the way you demonstrate good scholarship, by:
- Being honest and ethical in scholarly work.
- Acknowledging the work and ideas of others.
- Using your own words.
Plagiarism is an important issue that can have serious consequences including failing this course. You can avoid plagiarism by learning how to appropriately acknowledge your sources, and learning writing strategies that help you to apply your learning in your own words. This booklet will help you understand what plagiarism is and learn the skills you need to complete this assignment honestly.