Addressing Integration Challenges of Interdisciplinary Research in Social-Ecological Systems

Conducting research on coupled social-ecological systems (SESs) presents inherent challenges, such as coordination across disparate disciplines or integrating across multiple scales and levels of governance. To overcome these common challenges, we propose that structuring the research design itself...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSociety & natural resources Vol. 33; no. 3; pp. 418 - 431
Main Authors Pricope, Narcisa Gabriela, Cassidy, Lin, Gaughan, Andrea Elizabeth, Salerno, Jonathan David, Stevens, Forrest Robert, Hartter, Joel, Drake, Michael, Mupeta-Muyamwa, Patricia
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Philadelphia Routledge 03.03.2020
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Adaptive management
Coordination
cross-scalar
Data collection
Ecosystems
Governance
Integration
interdisciplinary
Interdisciplinary aspects
Interdisciplinary research
Interdisciplinary studies
Research design
research entry points
Social-ecological systems
Socioeconomic status
Systems
Teams
Teamwork
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Summary:Conducting research on coupled social-ecological systems (SESs) presents inherent challenges, such as coordination across disparate disciplines or integrating across multiple scales and levels of governance. To overcome these common challenges, we propose that structuring the research design itself according to SES principles provides for integrative execution of SES science. First, starting with pilot work, human and natural science researchers should work as a team to identify and access multi-level entry points (i.e. points of direct engagement) within the system, relative to the spatiotemporal scales under investigation. Second, teams should implement an adaptive process that begins with the proposed research design and uses shared experiences from pilot work to refine protocols prior to subsequent data collection. We provide examples of multi-level and multi-scale entry points, and show that adaptive management of research design through coordinated iteration allows for better research integration and applicable outcomes.
ISSN:0894-1920
1521-0723
DOI:10.1080/08941920.2019.1680783