Political Science Research Methodologies Study

Measuring the Alignment of University of Victoria Students’ Perceived Understandings of Indigenous
Climate Protests Versus Their Material Impacts (2021)

Project Summary

In 2021, Oilchange International published a report stating that Indigenous-led climate protests were responsible for mitigating 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Myself along with 3 other students decided to conduct a self-led study, following University of Victoria Political Science Department approval, for our Research Methodologies class. Please explore our process and findings below.

Process

Focus

The focus of our study was to assess the overall perception held by University of Victoria students and faculty towards Indigenous-led climate protests. The study sought to contrast the real world impact of Indigenous-led climate protests with our acquired data which would demonstrate incongruencies within the surveyed populace.

Methodologies

Our method was one of non-probability, employing the use of convenience sampling. Due to UVIC's relatively large student body, the method of non-probability convenience sampling allowed us to receive a relatively representative model.

Data Collection

To conduct our survey, my group established a station outside of the Student Union Building with a tablet and QR code. We stayed at our station for two hours asking as many students and faculty as possible if they'd complete our 13-question survey. We received 106 responses.