Design and the philosophy of sampling

Abstract

This chapter deals with the challenge we all face of translating ideas into the design of empirical research in soft-sediment habitats. It addresses the issues of study design and the inferences that can be drawn from different kinds of studies. Spatial and temporal scale is a critical issue in study design and the interpretation of results and the chapter introduces various elements of scale and how they can help you design rigorous and meaningful experiments. It focusses on the development of flow charts to help guide decisions needed to design field studies and the benefits of integrating experiments and surveys to improve mechanistic understanding and generality.