Lab 1. Introduction to people – environment research


Purposes:


This first lab is an example of one way of doing research in the field of environmental psychology.


Procedures:


1. Students will introduce themselves, with a brief one-liner or whatever about “who” they are.


2. Students will:

a) Work in groups of three (use the a, b, c method of determining group membership).

          b) Find a public space setting on campus which contains

              people, one research group to a setting.


          c) For a period of 10 minutes, UNOBTRUSIVELY observe and describe the setting. (Remember
the research ethics involved).

d) Identify a problem in the relations between the

     persons and the physical setting, and

e) Develop a hypothesis about why the problem is

     occurring.

     f) Extrapolate from the hypothesis what their underlying,

          more general theory is.

g) Collect some data to document the identified problem. Because this procedure is strictly one of

     observation,   some measurements may have to be estimated - distances, for     example. Still,
the data should be something that can be counted, and the data should actually be written down--it
will be an Appendix to this lab report.

h) Return after no more than one half hour and report the      following:

     1) which public space situation was observed,

2) what environmental problem was observed,

3) how and what data was collected,

4) to what extent the data documents the                 hypothesized problems,

5) what their broader theory is,

6) how the problem relates to theory, and

7) proposed solutions to the problem.


Students' reports should consist of a brief (5 minutes maximum) verbal report, presented to the
class, based upon the points just outlined (in h). All 3 students should present at least part of
the oral report.




Some instructions:



Intrude on the setting as little as possible, so that you do not become a factor in the behavior
that occurs there (“Heisenberg principle”). Do not bother in any way, or even speak to, anyone in
the setting in this purely observational study. No names of any persons are to be recorded. Be sure
the observation occurs in a public place.


Remember that real studies take months to do a proper job. We nevertheless must do our best in a
short period to do our study.


The data collection should involve some form of measurement, counting, or the like; in a
quasi-objective manner (i.e., without inference). By its very nature measurement involves
frequency, duration, intensity, or any combination of these. Of course, some measurements may
require estimation, but all data should be actually recorded in writing, to get a feel for the
process.


Are the problems inferred due to the setting or to the persons in the setting? What are the
implications of each attribution of “blame” in this sense?


You may well have trouble coming up with theories. This is to be expected.Original scientific ideas
are difficult to come by, and doing good research is difficult.