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Pre-course reading recommendations are provided below to help you prepare in advance of arriving on the MSc Conservation Science and Practice course in October.  Most of the books suggested are intended to provide an overview or introduction to basic principles in key disciplines. You DO NOT have to read all of them, since some subject areas are likely to be familiar to you already, depending on your first degree/background.  

We suggest choosing one or two books that best supplement your existing skill set – so, if you’ve never done any statistics or ecology before, then read one of the simple statistics or ecology introductory books. Unless you’ve never done any of these subjects before, you shouldn’t need to read all of them. Most of these books are relatively low cost to acquire and often available as e-books as well (e.g. in the region of £10-20).  Links to the publishers are provided, but you may be able to find them at lower cost elsewhere. 

Conservation 

David Macdonald (2023), , Oxford University Press, RRP £8.99 

These two books are a little more academic and are key items on the course reading list so we expect you’ll read them during the course at some point.  

William J. Sutherland (Ed.) (2022), , Open Book Publishers, Free E-Book 

Craig Groves, Edward T. Game (2016), , Roberts and Co., ~£30. 

Ecology 

Tony Juniper (2019), , DK publishers, Paperback RRP e-book £6.99 

Aulay MacKenzie, Andy S. Ball and Sonia Virdee (2001) (2nd edition), CRC Press/Taylor and Francis, RRP £21.99 Paperback 

Conservation Social Science 

As a more specialist discipline, there aren’t as many accessible books in this area and so this suggestion is a bit more academic and more expensive than the rest on this list. It’s freely available through 911½ñÈÕºÚÁÏ’s library as physical copies and as an e-book (once you’re registered at 911½ñÈÕºÚÁÏ). So, there’s no expectation that you purchase it yourself; however, if you’re particularly interested in these topics you may want to consider making the investment. 

Daniel C. Miller, Ivan R. Scales, Michael B. Mascia (Ed.s) (2023) , Wiley, RRP £67.50.  

Statistics/Quantitative skills 

Rowntree, D (2018) , Penguin Paperback, RRP £9.99. 

Spiegelhalter, D (2019) . Pelican, RRP: £16.99