Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation: South Australian Coast

This project investigates the vulnerability and adaptation strategies of coastal communities in South Australia to climate change. The methodology integrates climate and hydrodynamic models with socio-economic and geophysical indicators. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, including interviews with city councils near Adelaide to assess their perceptions of climate change vulnerability, current policies, and the use of online tools for predicting and adapting to climate change impacts. The study also explores the barriers faced by city councils in predicting and adapting to climate change. Qualitative research methods are used to gain an in-depth understanding of the attitudes and perceptions. The project analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of qualitative research design. The study concludes with an information sheet for participants, outlining the project's aims, methods, and ethical considerations, ensuring confidentiality and voluntary participation. The study emphasizes the social nature of the work, and the need to understand human choices and actions in the context of climate change impacts on coastal regions.

CLIMATE CHANGE
By Name
Course
Instructor
Institution
Location
Date

METHODOLOGY
Introduction
The methodology in terms of the risks associated with the hydrological cycle will be based on
the concept that risks will always be a function of the exposure, hazard as well as the community
vulnerability. The methodology will, therefore, integrate the output of various climatic as well as
the hydrodynamic models with the specific site (South Australian Coast) socio-economic as well
as geophysical indicators(Saltré et al 2016).
Objectives
Based on the literature review, the strategy of the monitoring of the vulnerability will employ:
 System of interest definition
 Set indicator selection with the aim of gaining an in-depth understanding of Vulnerability
and adaptation to climate change on the South Australian coast: a coastal community
perspective
 Definition of the evaluation as well as monitoring the procedures associated with the
vulnerability
Structure

Figure 1: Research method structure(Zhisheng et al 2015)
Interview Questions
What are the perceptions about climate change Vulnerability among the council Close to
Adelaide?
i. Who are the most vulnerable groups in your council area?
ii. What policies, programs, action plans do you have to address these vulnerabilities?

Is it possible to downscale the available online tools to predict how sea level rise, increase in
storm surges, coastal erosion, and inundation in 5 selected coastal city councils close to Adelaide
city over the next 25 years?
i. Do you know about online tools available to …
ii. Has your council used online tools to predict future sea level rise, coastal erosion,
inundations for the next 25 years
a. If yes – where are these maps
b. If no –
How capable are the city councils in using these online tools for predicting and adapting to
serious climate change?
i. Accessibility to tools
ii. Training
iii. Staff capacity
iv. Staff numbers
What are the barriers that city councils face in predicting negative impacts adapting to these
climate change impacts?

i. Do you think more can be done to improve the use of online tools to predict
community vulnerabilities to Sea Level rise and inundation?
ii. What are the barriers that prevent the use of online tools?
Online Tools
The table below gives descriptions of the online tools.
Table 1: Description of Online Tools
Online Tool Tool Use Decision Making
SA Climate Ready Data for
South Australia User Guide
( Goyder Institute for Water
Research)
As a manual on the use of the
Goyder Institute for Water
Research data
This tool provides
information on the use and
modeling of the data from the
Goyder Institute for Water
Research.
OzCoasts As a source for coastal spatial
information; the shape and
features over time.
The information available on
this tool informs on the level
of vulnerability of coastline
through the observation of the
coastal features over time.
NatureMaps As a source of spatial
information of the natural
resources of South Australia.
The information from this
tool helps in deciding
whether an area has been
exposed to climate change
vulnerability by observing the
spatial information of the
natural resources over time.
Turin map As a source of geospatial
information on Australia.
The information from this
tool helps in determining
whether an area is to climate
change vulnerability by
observing the spatial

information of the natural
resources over time.
Coastal Risk Australia As a source of information on
rising sea levels in Australia.
The information from this
tool informs whether a
coastal area is vulnerable to
rising sea levels as a result of
climate change.
Coast Adapt dataset As a source of information on
rising sea levels, temperatures
and rainfall patterns in
Australia.
The information from this
tool informs on whether a
region in Australia is
vulnerable to rising sea levels
and, abnormal temperature
and rainfall patterns as a
result of climate change.
Regions Adapt As a source of information on
the adaptation measure to
climate change.
The information from this
tool informs on which
adaptation measures can be
taken to address climate
change(Wernberg et al 2015).
Qualitative Research Methods
Qualitative research Method Can is defined as a method of market research which focuses on
obtaining data through conservational as well as open-ended communication. In this particular
method, attention is not only focused on what people think in regard to the subject under the
discussion but also why they so in the illustrative example, consider a convenience store which is
looking to improve on its patronage. An observation which is systematic may conclude that the
number of male characters visiting the store tends to be more(Herring, et al.2015). One of the
best methods to be used in the determination of the reason why women have not been visiting the
same structure will include conducting an in-depth interview of the categories involving

customers. This is an indication that qualitative research methods are designed in a manner
which allows for the reveal of the behavior as well as the perception of the audience that is being
targeted with reference being made to a particular or specific topic. The results of the qualitative
research methods tend to be more descriptive and it is possible to easily draw inferences from the
obtained data
How it is different from Quantitative method
Unlike quantitative method with more of experimental in nature, qualitative analysis does not
focuses much on the numerical figures. This is one of the main reasons why it is only preferred
for the social phenomena.
Critique of the qualitative research design approach
The advantages of the qualitative research approach for this study are as:
An in-depth understanding of the attitude can be obtained through qualitative research
design. This is especially significant when considering gathering information on perceptions.
According to some scholars, the qualitative research approach also does not require a large
sample size. This is because it seeks an in-depth analysis whose accuracy may not be sustained
with a large sample of analysis data. The small sample sizes reduce the cost of the study, making
it a cost-effective approach for our study(González et al 2016).
The data collected from the qualitative research approach has a high predictive ability. This
means that the data is reliable for the prediction of future variables of interest, in our case
vulnerabilities of climate change.

The disadvantages of the qualitative research approach for this study are as follows(Poloczanska
et al 2016)
The qualitative research approach is limited in terms of applicability and generalizability. The
results and findings obtained from this study, therefore, cannot be easily replicated in other
studies. The qualitative research approach has a subjective bias which can have a negative
impact on the research. This subjective nature implies that our study may be subject to biases.
Tools to be adopted
The study seeks to adopt two ways of handling the processes including interview using a variety
of sources as well as the online tools
CONCLUSIONS
The study may not be conducted in pure quantitative method due to the interpretative
argument that humans usually possess or have the free will hence the behavior is never caused by
the perceived external factors. Instead, the understanding of action is only possible by the use of
choices as well as actions that are undertaken. Considering the representative aspect, it is
possible to easily generalize but the truth of the matter is that experiments can only be restricted
to a small sample. This is a clear indication that greater risk is presented in the cases where the
there absence of a representative cross-section of the researchers' population. In the event that it
would have been possible then generalization would have gone beyond such specific
points(Enright et al 2015).
Taking into consideration the topic under the study” Vulnerability and adaptation to
climate change on the South Australian coast: a coastal community perspective” the entire work

will be considered to be social in nature. One of the obviously known disadvantages of the
quantitative data analysis or research method is that it cannot be utilized in the full explanation of
the social phenomena hence the method id just less useful in the field like the one which has
been under the study. Although it would have been possible for the qualitative data to clearly
illustrate what has been happening in terms of the changes in the climate whose impacts would
be felt through temperature increase, rise in the level of the sea at the coastal areas, it would not
be possible to answer the question “why?” similar occurrences are experiencing at the coastal
areas in the Australian South(Jacobs et al 2015).
The intended method to be adopted for the study has both the advantages and disadvantages.
Qualitative method of analysis is dependent on the individual opinion in regard to the social
phenomenon hence the precious aspect may be affected. In order to effectively address this issue,
averaging principle of the related facts will be considered within the set boundaries. The
advantages of the method that will be adopted are that it will allow for the evaluation of a large
sample of data.
Information Sheet
Title of the Project: Vulnerability and adaptation to climate change on the South
Australian coast: a coastal community perspective
Dear Participant,
We express our gratitude to you for taking part in our research work. The organization of the
project under research is via the South Australian University as a share of the curriculum of

Masters Research Project in the Natural and Built Environments School. Verification of the
curriculum has been done for the moral behavior of the investigation or research including
groups of participants who are basically regarded as the research team. The research is looking
forward to evaluating the vulnerability and adaptation to climate change on the South Australian
coast: a coastal community perspective.
It is important to take into account that taking part in this research work is the willingness of the
involved members and him/she can decide to leave the research work at any time or period. In
case a participant decides to leave, all the raw facts gathered by the particular member will have
to be completely detached immediately he/she leaves. It will be gracious however if you decide
to join us in the research project. In consent to take part in the research work team, you will have
to do the following:
 Data collection will be conducted by the use of the questionnaires, observation as well as
focus meetings of the groups
 During the group meeting, a video camera or tape recorder will be used to assist in the
conservation of the conversation
 Online survey and interview participation that will be done on the basis of confidentiality
and voluntary aspect of professionalism.
We are greatly willing to confirm to you that there would be a top level of secrecy for your
personal identification as well as your responses by the scholars for safety reasons. We assure
you that all the documentation including the information about the individual will be kept
confidential, and the facts about the identity of the organization or an individual will not be
revealed only if it is a requirement by the law. The responses that may lead to the identification

of an individual in any material will be removed immediately. In any case, you join us, we will
ensure that the responses you produce are not revealed at any circumstance by the scholars even
at the time of presentation of the research work.
Immediately the research work comes to an end, the collected raw facts of electronic type are
kept in a chosen folder for five years in the network drive of the UniSA school server and can
only be accessed to by the permitted members of the staff. The collected data on paper will also
be stored for the same duration in the school archive room and can only be accessed by the
school admin staff. After elapse of the five years the data stored is discarded as per the Code and
Records Management Policy of the University.
Publication of the research findings will, therefore, be done in the form of journal papers,
conference papers or essays. If the participant is interested to know the results from the research
work, it will be possibly shared. In case of interest in the current and /or the previous results of
the research, you are fully permitted to use the contact information given on this paper to contact
the scholars.
In case of moral issues concerning the research project or inquiries on the privileges as a member
of the research team, you are free to communicate to the Executive Officer of the Human
Research Ethics Committee via email: [e-mail] or Tel: [phone]. We
express our gratitude to you for the mutual aid of the study.

REFERENCES
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Miller, J.T., Rosauer, D.F., Faith, D.P., Nipperess, D.A. and Kujala, H., 2016. Phylogenetic
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