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Expanding the role of social science in conservation through an engagement with philosophy, methodology, and methods
Citation
Moon, K and Blackman, DA and Adams, VM and Colvin, RM and Davila, F and Evans, MC and Januchowski-Hartley, SR and Bennett, NJ and Dickinson, H and Sandbrook, C and Sherren, K and St John, FAV and van Kerkhoff, L and Wyborn, C, Expanding the role of social science in conservation through an engagement with philosophy, methodology, and methods, Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 10, (3) pp. 294-302. ISSN 2041-210X (2019) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
© 2019 The Authors. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
DOI: doi:10.1111/2041-210X.13126
Abstract
- The Special Feature led by Sutherland, Dicks, Everard, and Geneletti (Methods Ecology and Evolution, 9, 7–9, 2018) sought to highlight the importance of "qualitative methods" for conservation. The intention is welcome, and the collection makes many important contributions. Yet, the articles presented a limited perspective on the field, with a focus on objectivist and instrumental methods, omitting discussion of some broader philosophical and methodological considerations crucial to social science research. Consequently, the Special Feature risks narrowing the scope of social science research and, potentially, reducing its quality and usefulness. In this article, we seek to build on the strengths of the articles of the Special Feature by drawing in a discussion on social science research philosophy, methodology, and methods.
- We start with a brief discussion on the value of thinking about data as being qualitative (i.e., text, image, or numeric) or quantitative (i.e., numeric), not methods or research. Thinking about methods as qualitative can obscure many important aspects of research design by implying that "qualitative methods" somehow embody a particular set of assumptions or principles. Researchers can bring similar, or very different, sets of assumptions to their research design, irrespective of whether they collect qualitative or quantitative data.
- We clarify broad concepts, including philosophy, methodology, and methods, explaining their role in social science research design. Doing so provides us with an opportunity to examine some of the terms used across the articles of the Special Feature (e.g., bias), revealing that they are used in ways that could be interpreted as being inconsistent with their use in a number of applications of social science.
- We provide worked examples of how social science research can be designed to collect qualitative data that not only understands decision‐making processes, but also the unique social–ecological contexts in which it takes place. These examples demonstrate the importance of coherence between philosophy, methodology, and methods in research design, and the importance of reflexivity throughout the research process.
- We conclude with encouragement for conservation social scientists to explore a wider range of qualitative research approaches, providing guidance for the selection and application of social science methods for ecology and conservation.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | conservation social science, decision-making, focus groups, guideline, interviews, policymaking, qualitative data, surveys, qualitative social science, conservation policy, methodology, philosophy, research design |
| Research Division: | Environmental Sciences |
| Research Group: | Environmental management |
| Research Field: | Conservation and biodiversity |
| Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
| Objective Group: | Management of Antarctic and Southern Ocean environments |
| Objective Field: | Assessment and management of Antarctic and Southern Ocean ecosystems |
| UTAS Author: | Adams, VM (Associate Professor Vanessa Adams) |
| ID Code: | 130118 |
| Year Published: | 2019 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 62 |
| Deposited By: | Geography and Spatial Science |
| Deposited On: | 2019-01-10 |
| Last Modified: | 2020-05-19 |
| Downloads: | 72 View Download Statistics |
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