Taking a fresh approach to integrating key concepts & research processes this undergraduate textbook encourages students to develop an understanding of how ecologists raise & answer real-world questions Four unique chapters describe the development & evolution of different research programs in each of ecology's core areas showing students that research is undertaken by real people who are profoundly influenced by their social & political environments Beginning with a case study to capture student interest each chapter emphasizes the linkage between observations ideas questions hypotheses predictions results & conclusions Discussion questions integrated within the text encourage active participation & a range of end-of-chapter questions reinforce knowledge & encourage application of analytical & critical thinking skills to real ecological questions Students are asked to analyze & interpret real data with support from online tutorials demonstrating the R programming language for statistical analysis