My topic is giraffe. The zoo is Adelaide zoo.
WRITE-UP
TITLE: You can use the title from your Assignment 1- but the ‘improved' version by taking into account any feedback for suggested changes.
INTRODUCTION: you must cite relevant literature in this section (at least 6 References- peer-reviewed journal articles, books, or reliable reports also are suitable, e.g. from relevant IUCN specialist groups), of these 6 at least 2 references must be about your species. Some useful references are available at the end of this document or in the instructions for Assignment 1. Use proper prose/paragraphs NOT dot points or numbered sections.
Your proposed study should follow an ABA design, that is, it will consist of a period of baseline observation of the animal's behaviour (A), followed by an enrichment intervention (B), followed by a period of post-intervention observation of the animal's behaviour (A). This is usually the best way to test the effect of an intervention such as enrichment, on an animal's behaviour and enclosure use.
1. Start your introduction with your one or two aim(s).
2. Then provide your background review of the literature for environmental enrichment for the species you are covering in your zoo project. This section will be the longest part of your report. This section should be structured in continuous prose/paragraphs, however you are expected to cover the following points:
- Describe the natural habitat or environment (i.e. the ‘wild') for your chosen species (refer to literature).
- Describe behaviour and life in the wild for your species (e.g., distribution, habitat, diet, daily activity pattern, daily distance travelled, size of home range, group composition and social structure, typical behaviours etc- refer to literature).
- Define ‘psychological wellbeing' in captive animals (refer to literature).
- Define enrichment and give some examples which are appropriate for your species. If your readings do not provide examples of enrichment techniques used for your species, then refer to examples used for other similar species (refer to literature).
- Define stereotypic behaviour and give an example, and refer to a study/literature that has investigated it in your species or another similar species.
- Define an activity/time budget, and refer to a study/literature that provides information for your species (e.g. activity budget in "wild" or another zoo; refer to literature).
- Define an ‘ABA' research design. ABA designs are typical in animal behaviour research, but are sometimes also referred to by other names such as pre/post studies. A good description of an ABA design can be found in an article by Saudargas and Drummer (1996) - see resources list at end of document, and feel free to locate different resources as well.
You can build on the background from your Assignment 1- but the ‘improved' version by taking into account any feedback for suggested changes.
3. Finish the introduction with the specific hypothesis of your study. The hypothesis may entail predictions about what you expect the findings to be in terms of changes in the animals' behaviour or enclosure use. You can use the research question(s) or hypothesis from your Assignment 1- but the ‘improved' version by taking into account any feedback for suggested changes (2 marks).
METHOD
You must cite at least one study similar to yours in this section (use proper prose/ paragraphs NOT dot points or numbered sections).
Design:
- Cite at least one study similar to yours as an example. Describe your ABA design, including a description of the intervention (B). You can use the design from your Assignment 1- but the ‘improved' version by taking into account any feedback for suggested changes.
Participants:
- Describe the characteristics of the species you chose in Assignment 1. You can use the participants from your Assignment 1- but the ‘improved' version by taking into account any feedback for suggested changes.
Materials/Measures:
- Give specific details about the apparatus or materials you will need for your proposed study. Cite at least one study which uses similar materials (e.g. an ABA design).
These must FIT ON ONE PAGE (i.e. map & enrichment idea)
(1) Provide a diagram or map of your enclosure (based on your visit to Adelaide Zoo), correctly labelled as Figure 1 underneath. For example:
Figure 1: Map and dimensions of the flamingo enclosure at Adelaide Zoo (not to scale).
Include the key features of the enclosure. It does not have to be to scale or the perfect shape, but it should be roughly accurate. Provide an estimate of its length and depth. On this
sketch, include the main features of the enclosure, or ‘furniture', such as climbing structures, mounds, objects, rocks, and trees. Also include water features if you can see them. If there are large climbing structures, estimate their height. On your drawing, note down where the zoo visitor viewing areas are, and where the doors/gates are that lead to ‘off-exhibit' areas.
(2) Describe your enrichment object(s), device or technique for your proposed study for your species at Adelaide Zoo and where you would locate it/them and how many you would need in the enclosure. If you provide a drawing or sketch of your idea, please label it correctly as Figure 1 (below the actual diagram or figure). Make sure that you acknowledge the source of the idea (e.g. from a website or published study) and how you would make sure that it is safe for animals to use and easy for zoo staff to maintain. You can use the materials/measures from your Assignment 1- but the ‘improved' version by taking into account any feedback for suggested changes. BUT, now you must provide the diagrams based on your visit to Adelaide Zoo and Enrichment idea ON ONE PAGE.
Procedure:
Describe the procedure of your study - but remember, you won't actually be collecting data, so this is simply a description of how you WOULD do it. You can use the procedure from your Assignment 1- but the ‘improved' version by taking into account any feedback for suggested changes.
DATA ANALYSIS: you must cite at least one study similar to yours (with similar data analysis methods) in this section as well as one statistics book/reference if needed. Use proper prose/paragraphs NOT dot points or numbered sections.
Describe which type of data analysis is appropriate for your proposed study (e.g. descriptive statistics and graphs/tables; statistical tests- such as, t-tests, analyses of variance, correlations; type of qualitative analysis and interpretation of data).
- If you are using descriptive statistics only (e.g. means, standard deviations, frequencies, proportions, percentages), explain why this is appropriate (e.g. single subject or small sample size)
- If you are using inferential statistics describe whether the appropriate tests are parametric or non-parametric
You can use the data analysis from your Assignment 1- but the ‘improved' version by taking into account any feedback for suggested changes
REFERENCES: APA style
- Provide names of all authors cited in your introduction/report. Cite correctly in text
- Names in alphabetical order
- Publication details of books or articles which were primary sources of references used (i.e., do not include sources you did not read yourself)
- Only include references cited in your report (i.e., it is not a bibliography)
- Titles of books and journals (and volume) in italics
The introduction needs 4-5 references (from those available as E-readers) & 2 references about your species (1 must be from the IUCN Red List). The methods section needs 1 similar study reference. The results section needs 1 similar study reference & 1 statistics reference. TOTAL: at least 8-9 references
GRAMMAR/STRUCTURE
Make sure that your prose is grammatically correct, and that it is easy to understand and divided into appropriate sections.
IMPROVEMENTS/CHANGES MADE
Describe improvements or changes you made to your Study Design Proposal based on (1) feedback from marker and (2) your visit to Adelaide Zoo.
Attachment:- Study design proposal.rar