Assignment 2 31

Assignment 2: Critically evaluating what is known about forest values
SOAN 355
Spring 2017
Due Date:April 27 2017 11:55 PM
Objective: Along with a clear question good social research begins with a careful assessment of what is known on the subject. This assignment will demonstrate your ability 1) to find peer reviewed scholarship and other useful literature exploring forest values beliefs and attitudes 2) to critically evaluate social scientific literature noting how methods differ from the natural sciences and 3) to communicate in writing key insights about social and cultural change.
Description: Using at least one or two studies on forest values beliefs and attitudes provided on Moodle and at least two new sources you find through a literature search summarize what is known about a specific aspect of public values beliefs and attitudes toward forests and forest management in our region. Ideally your exploration will seek to answer question(s) you posed in Assignment #1 though it may be that no good research exists to address your question. Your goal in this literature review is not to be comprehensive but rather to precisely identify what seems to you to be key findings about some aspect of how people view forests. Be insightful and incisive. Good literature reviews often start with more general findings and become specific like a funnel. Good literature reviews are organized thematically rather than summarizing papers one after another. Along with findings be sure to note the context for the research you cite and how the work was done. How generalizable is the study (i.e. type and size of sample) and how are finding used? Do these studies have limitations?
Formatting Guidelines: The narrative part of this assignment should conform to the common writing conventions for your portfolio.
I attached four studies from our Moodle you can choose one or two from them and at least two new sources you find through a literature search (google). Total of three to four studies no more.