Last modified: 23 Jul 2024 11:06
This course considers the generation, analysis, and use of global data on biological consequences of environmental change.
You will gain familiarity with the main drivers of global change in ecological systems, and how existing insights of drivers have been ‘scaled up’ from individual studies to knowledge on global patterns. Hands-on tutorials build confidence and skill in handling large-scale datasets while gaining appreciation of their biases and limitations.
You will further critically evaluate how science becomes policy, empowering knowledge of links between data, knowledge, and practice in a changing world.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | Second Term | Credit Points | 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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This course aims to provide students with a critical evaluation of data and analyses in global change biology, and how this feeds into policy and action.
Course structure is as follows:
Week 1: Overview of global change biology: What are the problems and how do we know? Group discussion.
Week 2: Macroecological rules, problems with generality, and issues of scale. The state of existing data: introduction to data repositories. Promises and limitations of big data.
Week 3: Data synthesis and projection. How do we combine data? What factors do we need to take into account? Do we trust pretty maps, and forward-looking scenarios? Students gain facility with the analysis of big data and gain critical understanding of biases and limitations.
Week 4-5: Addressing novel hypotheses with big data: New technologies, the importance of linking pattern to process.
Citizen science and indigenous knowledge. How does science inform policy? Forward looking discussions.
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 40 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Group report [but individual sections graded individually]. Students will work in teams to critically evaluate recent scientific policy reports of their choosing (e.g., IPCC, IPBES, etc). They will create a joint report with individually defined sub-sections so that they have the opportunity to work as a team but get individual credit for individual sections under their responsibility. The reports will be discussed in the final week among the class as a whole to share insight across projects. Assessment in week 5 of the course; feedback in week 7. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Evaluate | The student should be able to critically evaluate the use of global data in supporting arguments around conservation, management, and policy. |
| Conceptual | Understand | The student should be able to understand and evaluate the major issues impacting global ecological systems and their relevance for society, as well as remaining knowledge gaps and uncertainties. |
| Procedural | Create | The student should be able to responsibly discuss and debate global issues with their team and the course as a whole, gaining skills in sensitive and critical listening and debate. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 40 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Students will follow protocols to analyse and interpolate global data, with exercises geared towards learning how to discriminate among models and deal with issues of bias. They will make a figure that summarises their findings and which they will critically evaluate for data limitations. A rubric will be provided for marking and feedback will be in class during the practical as well as in writing. Assessment in week 4 of the course; feedback in week 6. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Understand | The student should be able to understand and evaluate the major issues impacting global ecological systems and their relevance for society, as well as remaining knowledge gaps and uncertainties. |
| Conceptual | Understand | The student should be able to understand the processes by which data is compiled, and demonstrate good practice for deposition and use of existing data to answer large-scale questions. |
| Procedural | Create | The student should be able to analyse and present global data in a way that is responsible and is clearly communicated. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 20 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Students will download and compile publicly available data, and store it with metadata in an online repository, following a protocol that allows them to compare and contrast different data types and approaches. They will turn in their work as well as answers to questions about procedural and ethical issues. A rubric will be provided for marking and feedback will be in class during the practical as well as in writing. Assessment in week 3 of the course; feedback in week5. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Understand | The student should be able to understand the processes by which data is compiled, and demonstrate good practice for deposition and use of existing data to answer large-scale questions. |
| Procedural | Apply | The student should be able to retrieve and process existing ecological data in a responsible way. |
There are no assessments for this course.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Elements that were passed at first attempt are carried forward in the resit grade calculation. Handling big data workshop report: Students will use the dataset that they used for the original submission unless it was unsuitable; the requirements for the resit will be the same as those for the original report. Big data analysis workshop output: Students will repeat work from the original workshop to demonstrate successful achievement of the specific tasks Critical evaluation of global change biology: Unlike the original report, the resit will be an individual report that has reduced scope. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Procedural | Create | The student should be able to analyse and present global data in a way that is responsible and is clearly communicated. |
| Conceptual | Understand | The student should be able to understand and evaluate the major issues impacting global ecological systems and their relevance for society, as well as remaining knowledge gaps and uncertainties. |
| Conceptual | Understand | The student should be able to understand the processes by which data is compiled, and demonstrate good practice for deposition and use of existing data to answer large-scale questions. |
| Procedural | Apply | The student should be able to retrieve and process existing ecological data in a responsible way. |
| Conceptual | Evaluate | The student should be able to critically evaluate the use of global data in supporting arguments around conservation, management, and policy. |
| Procedural | Create | The student should be able to responsibly discuss and debate global issues with their team and the course as a whole, gaining skills in sensitive and critical listening and debate. |
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