Several methods for evaluating the permittivity of soil samples using measurements in the time domain were studied. A number of algorithms for inverting the measured data to obtain epsilon were investigated and three different types of sampling devices were examined. The investigation examined the positive and negative aspects of three different types of sample holders to determine a method of obtaining dielectric information from in-situ time domain measurements. A scheme using a twin lead balun driven ground probe was proposed and analysed with regard to accuracy and sensitivity to measurement error. / Ph. D.