Research Methods

Question 1

How can you sample aquatic animals?

Answer 1

Pond net, kick sampling, surber sampling, planktonic nets, colonisation media.

Question 2

How can you sample plants?

Answer 2

Quadrats (point, grid and open frame)

Question 3

How can you sample aerial and terrestrial animals?

Answer 3

Pitfall traps, aerial insect nets, suction samplers, sweep nets, beating trays, tullgren funnels, light traps, earthworm extraction (pit digging and soil flooding)

Question 4

How can you sample earthworms?

Answer 4

1. Soil Flooding - flood the soil and surrounding area in detergent
2. Soil Pit Extraction - dig a pit of known volume and depth and hand-pick out the worms

Question 5

When sampling, what is bias?

Question 6

How can bias in sampling be avoided?

Answer 6

Standardisation

Question 7

What should you consider when planning an experiment? (Acronym)

Answer 7

LCNTSSS
Location of samples
Count (% cover or population number etc)
Number of samples
Time
Standardisation
S
S

Question 8

What types of sampling are there?

Answer 8

Random, systematic, stratified

Question 9

What is stratified sampling?

Question 10

What is the difference between a transect line and a transect belt?