Observing animal behaviour : design and analysis of quantitative data / Marian Stamp Dawkins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dawkins, Marian Stamp.

Contributor:

Class of 1932 Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Animal behavior--Research.

Animal behavior.

Animal behavior--Observations.

Physical Description:

viii, 158 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2007.

Summary:

This book introduces the reader to the power of observation before, and sometimes instead of, experimental manipulation in the study of animal behaviour. It starts with simple and easily accessible methods suitable for student projects, before going on to demonstrate the possibilities that now exist for far more sophisticated analyses of observational data. At a time when animal welfare considerations are attracting political as well as scientific debate, the potential for non-intrusive studies on animals is being increasingly recognized. Observation emerges as a valuable alternative approach, often yielding highly informative results in situations (such as on zoos, farms or for wild animals) where more invasive experimental techniques would be undesirable, unethical or just plain impossible. However, to justify its place alongside experimentation as a rigorous scientific method, observation needs to be just as disciplined and systematic and have just as much attention paid to project design in the way that observations are made and recorded.

Observing Animal Behaviour takes the reader through all these stages: from the initial observations, to the formulation of hypotheses, and their subsequent testing with further systematic observations. Although designed principally as a companion text for advanced undergraduate students taking courses in animal behaviour, this accessible text will be essential reading for anyone wanting to study animal behaviour using observational methods rather than experimentation, and assumes no previous knowledge of animals, statistics or scientific method. It will be of particular relevance and use to those professional researchers and consultants in the behavioural sciences who seek a compact but comprehensive introduction to the quantitiative observation of animal behaviour. Concise, readable introduction to animal behaviour, Describes the power of quantitative observation, particularly when harnessed to modern statistical techniques, Encourages more informed project design and, by implication, improved research, Demonstrates the potential of observation as a non-invasive research tool, with positive implications for animal welfare.

Contents:

1 The power of observation 1

2 Asking the right question 14

3 When all you need is one 43

4 Three principles of observational design 52

5 The selective observer 72

6 Down to detail 89

7 Observing in farms, in zoos, and in the wild 110

8 Analysing observations 116

9 Further observations 125

10 Observing the future 136

Appendix 1 Some random numbers 151

Appendix 2 Power and sample size 152

Appendix 3 Beaufort wind scale 153.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Class of 1932 Fund.

ISBN:

9780198569350

0198569351

019856936X

9780198569367

OCLC:

153553891