Although qualitative methods have been employed for many years, there remain many unresolved issues for investigators wishing to undertake work of this type. This paper, aimed primarily at students and inexperienced researchers, considers some of the most pertinent of these matters and suggests responses that the investigator may make. Some of the…

This article describes a novel, hands-on method to qualitatively determine the extent of microbial activity in topsoil using ordinary blank paper. Appropriate and scalable for the high school and college level, these experiments expose students to some of the challenges facing environmental researchers and also contribute to curriculum development…