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Unit of Study BIO10121 - Successful Sampling (2016)

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Unit Snapshot

  • Enrolment information

    Offered only at the Nat Marine Science Centre in a 3 week intensive mode, with a compulsory one week residential held outside the normal ext residential weeks.

Unit description

Introduces students to the concepts and practice for planning, implementing, analysing and interpreting surveys in the marine environment. The logical approach to survey design is emphasised and practised in field exercises, and common statistical methods are applied to the analysis of class data. Quality assurance/quality control of data is practised including proofing, and short- and long-term data storage and management.

Unit content

The schedule of topics is spread between lectures, field studies, workshops and laboratory classes:
Topic 1: Procedures for establishing a study
Topic 2: Allocating sampling effort
Topic 3: Methods for sampling marine habitats
Topic 4: Preserving, sorting and identifying samples
Topic 5: Data management and analysis
Topic 6: Summarising and reporting your data

Availabilities

Location Domestic International
National Marine Science Centre Coffs Harbour Session 1 Session 1

Learning outcomes and graduate attributes

Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

GA1: Intellectual rigour, GA2: Creativity, GA3: Ethical practice, GA4: Knowledge of a discipline, GA5: Lifelong learning, GA6: Communication and social skills, GA7: Cultural competence
Learning outcome count Learning outcome description GA1 GA2 GA3 GA4 GA5 GA6 GA7
1 Explain the main steps in conducting ecological investigations
2 Apply best-practice design considerations to ecological investigations
3 Choose the most appropriate sampling methods for different marine habitats and organisms
4 Design pilot studies to optimise the outcomes of ecological investigations
5 Critically evaluate the quality of published research work
6 Optimally present findings of studies for a range of different communication types

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

  1. Explain the main steps in conducting ecological investigations
    • GA1:
    • GA4:
  2. Apply best-practice design considerations to ecological investigations
    • GA1:
    • GA4:
  3. Choose the most appropriate sampling methods for different marine habitats and organisms
    • GA1:
    • GA2:
    • GA4:
  4. Design pilot studies to optimise the outcomes of ecological investigations
    • GA1:
    • GA4:
  5. Critically evaluate the quality of published research work
    • GA1:
    • GA3:
    • GA4:
  6. Optimally present findings of studies for a range of different communication types
    • GA1:
    • GA2:
    • GA4:
    • GA6:

Prescribed learning resources

Prescribed Texts
  • No prescribed texts.

Prescribed Learning Resources may change in future Teaching Periods.