ENST 230 - Research Methods: Studying Sustainability at Vassar

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

(Same as GEOG 230) Vassar now integrates sustainability planning as a core institutional mission, including the goal of carbon neutrality by 2030. This intensive course builds skills of social-science research through the tracking of institutional sustainability data. Such a campus-wide effort provides an ideal setting to examine the effectiveness of the measures taken, the existence of individual or institutional barriers, and the possible need for additional interventions. We discuss practices such as literature review, formulating a research question, methods design, the Institutional Review Board process, and other aspects of research design. Students then collect and analyze data to put Vassar’s experience into the context of sustainability debates. The class meets weekly for 2 hours for the first half of the semester, then biweekly afterward with an individual consultation with the instructor. The instructor arranges data sharing with the Vassar sustainability office, but students are encouraged to make their own contact with various other organizations for additional data collection, survey, and interview arrangements. Yu Zhou.

One 2-hour period and individual conferences with the instructor.

Course Format: INT