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FIELD RESEARCH EXPERIENCE COURSE
(Engineering Special Course)

RATIONALE: A complete science and engineering education requires fieldwork and field experiences. This Field Experience course is designed to expand the educational opportunities and experiences of our students and produce a useful research document for a specific client, either commercial or academic. The research is conducted either during the semester or during a 3-week on-site visit at the end of the semester (depending on the project type and location).

It is not expected that the client shoulders the responsibility of educating our students, but rather that a co-operative agreement be entered into between the student and the client such that the client receives a useful research report and the student gains invaluable field experience.

TEACHING MODE: Where relevant, students will be educated in:

Good fieldwork practices;
Pertinent safety issues while conducting the fieldwork and safety issues while on-site;

Background information on the project to be undertaken (essential so the student does not waste time when “on site”);

Defining the formats and protocols in writing a good report for an individual company;

Developing observational and recording (i.e., note-taking) skills.

ASSESSMENT: Students will produce a useful report/research document for the company. The student will have until the end of the semester to produce the report/research document. This document should be in the format required by the respective company. One copy will be given to the company, one will be turned in to UWA for grading, and one will be returned to the University of Notre Dame. Each student will give a presentation of their reports (or aspects thereof if it is a team effort) at the end of the course. The grade is based upon conduct in the classroom, conduct in the field, the report, and the final presentation. This is a little different from traditional assessment methods. Technical writing skills and the expectations of your report will be developed as the course progresses.

EXTENSIONS: Extensions will not be granted except under extraordinary circumstances and must be accompanied by a written statement or certificate (e.g., doctor certificate). Penalties will apply for late work.

HONESTY: Students are expected to conduct their studies in a professional manner. Dishonesty, as exemplified by (but not limited to) plagiarism, resubmission of previously graded work, unauthorized collaboration, or divulgence of proprietary information, will result in immediate ejection from the class and a failing grade will be entered on the students’ permanent record.

DEVELOPING GOOD FIELD PRACTICES

When away from the classroom or laboratory, observations, attention to detail, good note taking practices, and efficient data logging are all essential traits for an effective field trip. If you work for a company, deadlines must be met so you cannot go back out to a site, often hundreds of kilometres away, to “check” your initial findings. “Time is Money” is the axiom used. Developing good field skills is essential not only for this course, but for the corporate world as the principles discussed her can be applied to many othr situations.

It is the objective of this class to give you a “real world” experience with a company. The report you create is important to this company and is NOT a throw-away document. The project you undertake has importance and remember that the contacts and impressions you make could be very useful to you later on in life. In a nutshell, it is important that you give 110% to this course because your reputation is on the line as well as the future of this course because we want the companies already involved to be repeat customers next year and beyond. In addition, we want to attract other companies to this venture.

WHAT ARE GOOD FIELD PRACTICES?

Key Word - OBJECTIVE
MEMORY IS SUBJECTIVE AND NO GOOD!

Observation: You need to observe objectively and write down what you see NOT what you think should be there. This sounds a little crazy, but you would be amazed how inventive one can be!

Attention to Detail: You will never remember all the details, so write down everything possible in an objective manner. If you are describing entities, have a list of features to comment upon (size dimensions, colour, texture, shape, orientation, etc.). Be specific and quantitative.

Awareness: Be aware of your surroundings. What is not important now could be back in the lab, especially when you are writing your report.

Accuracy and Precision: Taking accurate and precise measurements in the field is essential for producing a good report.

Accuracy: how close is your measurement to the true value;

Precision: a measure of reproducible your result is.

Safety: FOLLOW ALL SAFETY GUIDELINES AT ALL TIMES. We want you around to write your report and present it.

Organization: Organizing your notebook requires planning and forethought. What data are you trying to collect? Is creating tables worthwhile? Would a brief sketch/photograph save many words? It is a good idea to spend 20-30 minutes each evening reviewing the days’ notes and correcting any errors that can be caught. If you do not do this, mistakes will get through to the final document.

In order to do the best job possible, be anal in your note taking. Let the creative juices flow. The exercises undertaken throughout this class will demonstrate the need for the criteria presented above to be fully developed.