Unit 4: Field Sampling

Once the researchers have developed their hypotheses and have an understanding of what data they will need to collect to support their hypotheses they will need to explicitly design their experiment, pull together the materials and methods, or protocols, that they need, collect their samples, keep records of their samples and their sampling events, and submit their samples for analysis. This data collection, this accumulation of the numbers and observations, is essential to support or refute the hypothesis.

Here are general rules of the road:

• Make defensible research plans
• Be systematic and collect the same type of data in the same way
• Take very careful field and lab notes
• Record observations
  • Observations can be either quantitative (numeric) or qualitative (words, relative amounts) and observations can be made of anything you can see. You can count trees, list species, weigh leaves, say whether a certain animal or plant is present or absent. 
• Enter the data into a spreadsheet in order to analyze and graph it
• Check it twice to minimize errors whenever you can
• Remember! Proper prior preparation prevents poor performance

You are submitting a sample of organisms collected from above and a sample of organisms collected from below the culvert to the lab for organism identification. Students can collect data for many other field parameters to help refine their system thinking and support their hypotheses.

By the end of this unit your students will have prepared for the collection of, collected, and submitted their field samples.

Field sampling is exciting and can give your researchers ownership over the project that they would not have otherwise. If you have not been able to take your students out to their field site yet then field sampling is the way to give the students’ system model concreteness and context that it will not have otherwise.

• Develop a sampling strategy
• Prepare for collection of samples and data
• Collect samples and data necessary to support the evaluation of hypotheses

There are many different ways to go field sampling.

We recommend practicing everything that you can beforehand, in the classroom (of, if appropriate, on a playing field).

Put students in charge of assembling and checking their own field gear.

Give everyone a field job; have them practice their field job (including keeping track of the material that they are responsible for).

Make sure field data sheets are filled out and returned to the classroom.

• Activity 1: Experimental Design (essential)
• Activity 2: Preparing for Sampling (essential)
• Activity 3: Environmental Sampling (essential)
• Activity 4: Sample Submission (essential)

See Lesson Resources

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