Dr Stuart Harrad is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Birmingham. He heads the NERC Network on POPs and has been selected to chair Dioxin 2008, a major conference on Halogenated POPs. He edited Persistent Organic Pollutants: Environmental Behaviour and Pathways of Human Exposure published by Kluwer in 2001.Lesley Batty is the author of Student Projects in Environmental Science, published by Wiley.Miriam Diamond is the author of Student Projects in Environmental Science, published by Wiley.George Arhonditsis is the author of Student Projects in Environmental Science, published by Wiley.

• Preface Acknowledgement1. General strategies for completing your research project successfully.1.1 Introduction – why is this book necessary?1.2 What on earth am I going to do for my research project?1.3 Fundamentals of scientific research, the generation and testing of hypotheses (see also Chapter 3).1.4 What constitutes research? Distinguishing between monitoring and research1.5 Project planning1.6 Conducting your project safely 1.7 How to conduct a literature review (see also chapter 7)1.8 How to be a research student1.9 How to manage your supervisor1.10 Summary2. Gathering your data.2.1 Different types of data2.2 Designing an experimental research project2.3 How reliable are your data?3. How to summarise your data.3.1 Descriptive statistics3.2 Probabilities and data distributions3.3 Choosing the appropriate statistical test4. Testing hypotheses.4.1 Coincidence or causality?4.2 Relationships and differences4.3 Testing for differences5. Spotting relationships.5.1 Linear regression – to what extent does one factor influence another?5.2 Multiple linear regression – to what extent is a given variable influenced by a range of other variables?5.3 Non-linear regression5.4 Pattern recognition6. Making sense of past, present and future systems – mathematical modelling.6.1 What is a model?6.2 Functions of models6.3 Which type of model should I use?6.4 How do I build a model?6.5 Steps in developing a model6.6 Illustrative case study7. Presenting your work.7.1 Getting started – strategies for successful writing7.2 How to write your dissertation7.3 How to represent graphically your data7.4 How to cite references7.5 How to defend your work in an oral exam7.6 How to make effective oral presentations7.7 SummaryIndex