Katie Moon

A Guide to Understanding Social Science Research for Natural Scientists

Natural scientists are increasingly interested in social research because they recognize that conservation problems are commonly social problems. Interpreting social research, however, requires at least a basic understanding of the philosophical principles and theoretical assumptions of the discipline, which are embedded in the design of social research. Natural scientists who engage in social science but are unfamiliar with these principles and assumptions can misinterpret their results. We developed a guide to assist natural scientists in understanding the philosophical basis of social science to support the meaningful interpretation of social research outcomes. The 3 fundamental elements of research are ontology, what exists in the human world that researchers can acquire knowledge about; epistemology, how knowledge is created; and philosophical perspective, the philosophical orientation of the researcher that guides her or his action. Many elements of the guide also apply to the natural sciences. Natural scientists can use the guide to assist them in interpreting social science research to determine how the ontological position of the researcher can influence the nature of the research; how the epistemological position can be used to support the legitimacy of different types of knowledge; and how philosophical perspective can shape the researchers choice of methods and affect interpretation, communication, and application of results. The use of this guide can also support and promote the effective integration of the natural and social sciences to generate more insightful and relevant conservation research outcomes.

A Landholder‐Based Approach to the Design of Private‐Land Conservation Programs

Many ecosystems exist primarily, or solely, on privately owned (freehold) or managed (leasehold) land. In rural and semirural areas, local and regional government agencies are commonly responsible for encouraging landholders to conserve native vegetation and species on these private properties. Yet these agencies often lack the capacity to design and implement conservation programs tailored to rural and semirural landholdings and instead offer one program to all landholders. Landholders may elect not to participate because the program is irrelevant to their property or personal needs; consequently, vegetation-retention objectives may not be achieved. We differentiated landholders in Queensland, Australia, according to whether they derived income from the land (production landholders) or not (nonproduction landholders). We compared these two groups to identify similarities and differences that may inform the use of policy instruments (e.g., voluntary, economic, and regulatory) in conservation program design. We interviewed 45 landholders participating in three different conservation agreement programs (price-based rate [property tax] rebate; market-based tender; and voluntary, permanent covenant). Production landholders were more likely to participate in short-term programs that offered large financial incentives that applied to <25% of their property. Nonproduction landholders were more likely to participate in long-term programs that were voluntary or offered small financial incentives that applied to >75% of their property. These results may be explained by significant differences in the personal circumstances of production and nonproduction landholders (income, education, health) and differences in their norms (beliefs about how an individual is expected to act) and attitudes. Knowledge of these differences may allow for development of conservation programs that better meet the needs of landholders and thus increase participation in conservation programs and retention of native vegetation.

A Multidisciplinary Conceptualization of Conservation Opportunity

An opportunity represents an advantageous combination of circumstances that allows goals to be achieved. We reviewed the nature of opportunity and how it manifests in different subsystems (e.g., biophysical, social, political, economic) as conceptualized in other bodies of literature, including behavior, adoption, entrepreneur, public policy, and resilience literature. We then developed a multidisciplinary conceptualization of conservation opportunity. We identified 3 types of conservation opportunity: potential, actors remove barriers to problem solving by identifying the capabilities within the system that can be manipulated to create support for conservation action; traction, actors identify windows of opportunity that arise from exogenous shocks, events, or changes that remove barriers to solving problems; and existing, everything is in place for conservation action (i.e., no barriers exist) and an actor takes advantage of the existing circumstances to solve problems. Different leverage points characterize each type of opportunity. Thus, unique stages of opportunity identification or creation and exploitation exist: characterizing the system and defining problems; identifying potential solutions; assessing the feasibility of solutions; identifying or creating opportunities; and taking advantage of opportunities. These stages can be undertaken independently or as part of a situational analysis and typically comprise the first stage, but they can also be conducted iteratively throughout a conservation planning process. Four types of entrepreneur can be identified (business, policy, social, and conservation), each possessing attributes that enable them to identify or create opportunities and take advantage of them. We examined how different types of conservation opportunity manifest in a social-ecological system (the Great Barrier Reef) and how they can be taken advantage of. Our multidisciplinary conceptualization of conservation opportunity strengthens and legitimizes the concept.

A guideline to improve qualitative social science publishing in ecology and conservation journals

A rise in qualitative social science manuscripts published in ecology and conservation journals speaks to the growing awareness of the importance of the human dimension in maintaining and improving Earth’s ecosystems. Given the rise in the quantity of qualitative social science research published in ecology and conservation journals, it is worthwhile quantifying the extent to which this research is meeting established criteria for research design, conduct, and interpretation. Through a comprehensive review of this literature, we aimed to gather and assess data on the nature and extent of information presented on research design published qualitative research articles, which could be used to judge research quality. Our review was based on 146 studies from across nine ecology and conservation journals. We reviewed and summarized elements of quality that could be used by reviewers and readers to evaluate qualitative research (dependability, credibility, confirmability, and transferability); assessed the prevalence of these elements in research published in ecology and conservation journals; and explored the implications of sound qualitative research reporting for applying research findings. We found that dependability and credibility were reasonably well reported, albeit poorly evolved in relation to critical aspects of qualitative social science such as methodology and triangulation, including reflexivity. Confirmability was, on average, inadequately accounted for, particularly with respect to researchers’ ontology, epistemology, or philosophical perspective and their choice of methodology. Transferability was often poorly developed in terms of triangulation methods and the suitability of the sample for answering the research question/s. Based on these findings, we provide a guideline that may be used to evaluate qualitative research presented in ecology and conservation journals to help secure the role of qualitative research and its application to decision making.

The imperative need for nationally coordinated bioassessment of rivers and streams

Declining water quality and ecological condition is a typical trend for rivers and streams worldwide as human demands for water resources increase. Managing these natural resources sustainably is a key responsibility of governments. Effective water management policies require information derived from long-term monitoring and evaluation. Biological monitoring and assessment are critical for management because bioassessment integrates the biological, physical and chemical features of a waterbody. Investment in nationally coordinated riverine bioassessment in Australia has almost ceased and the foci of management questions are on more localised assessments. However, rivers often span political and administrative boundaries, and their condition may be best protected and managed under national policies, supported by a coordinated national bioassessment framework. We argue that a nationally coordinated program for the bioassessment of riverine health is an essential element of sustainable management of a nation’s water resources. We outline new techniques and research needed to streamline current arrangements to meet present-day and emerging challenges for coordinating and integrating local, regional and national bioassessment activities. This paper draws on international experience in riverine bioassessment to identify attributes of successful broad-scale bioassessment programs and strategies needed to modernise freshwater bioassessment in Australia and re-establish national broad-scale focus.

Learning the hard way: a case study of an attempt at agricultural transformation in response to climate change

There is increasing interest in transformational adaptation to climate change in agriculture, i.e. adaptation that involves large-scale, novel responses to reduce vulnerability to climate risks. Transformational adaptation is less well understood than incremental adaptation, since there are few studies of agricultural enterprises making transformative changes in response to climatic change. This paper is an in-depth study of an agricultural company’s attempt to implement transformational adaptation in response to climate change. We document the Peanut Company of Australia’s (PCA) response to predicted climatic change by expanding its operations into Katherine, Northern Territory, after decades of below-average rainfall in their traditional production region in south-east Queensland. Our research question was: what conditions and processes influenced the outcome of the company’s response? We conducted 37 semi-structured interviews with company, government and community representatives to examine diverse perspectives on PCA’s expansion into Katherine and its subsequent strategic retreat. To reveal insights into why, when and how this attempted transformational adaptation occurred we reviewed the literature and identified Park et al.’s (2012) Adaptation Action Cycles (AAC) framework and aspects from the organisational adaptation literature as useful for our analysis. Based on our findings, we revised the AAC framework to better reflect the way that incremental adaptation in situ can occur simultaneously with transformational adaptation at a new location. Our study illustrates that transformational adaptation in agriculture is difficult, complex, risky and costly and sometimes unsuccessful, revealing some of the challenges of and barriers to organisational adaptation in agriculture, especially when moving to a new location.

Environmental governance for urgent and uncertain problems

Environmental governance aims to support positive ecological outcomes by establishing effective joint decision-making processes. Yet, complex environmental problems, such as invasive species management, often require urgent action under conditions of uncertainty. Establishing clear and workable environmental governance arrangements in these circumstances can be challenging, or even overlooked completely, in the rush to take action. We undertook an exploratory study, involving semi-structured interviews with 15 policy-makers and scientists, to examine the proposition that some aspects of environmental governance can be more important than others when urgent action is required under conditions of uncertainty. We analysed qualitative data regarding the major decisions points of a case study of invasive species management in Tasmania, Australia. We identified specific elements of governance that, when used under conditions of urgency and uncertainty, can: (a) undermine the ability to establish effective governance arrangements over the longer-term; or alternatively (b) lay the foundation for inclusive and adaptable governance arrangements. Aspects of environmental governance that can be more important than others when responding to urgent and uncertain problems relate to: assessing context; establishing a temporary task-force and setting goals; co-producing knowledge with stakeholders; engaging early; and clarifying and communicating responsibilities and governance arrangements. From our findings, we pose questions for policy-makers and practitioners to ask when responding to urgent problems, creating an opportunity to establish basic governance arrangements even when immediate action is required. These basic arrangements can have the capacity to evolve and respond to increasing levels of certainty, complexity and inclusion.

Knowledge management, context and public policy: developing an analysis framework

In this chapter we explore the potential role of knowledge management in the development of environmental policy. we apply the seven c’s knowledge management model in the context of a very complex policymaking scenario, namely the potential eradication of the red fox in tasmania. this endeavour needed to integrate science, community, government and other stakeholders to design and implement effective policy and we shall argue that adopting a knowledge management approach might have helped to integrate the stakeholders and improve outcomes. first, we outline the case study, identifying some of the critical challenges to policy development and implementation. second, we identify why knowledge management needs to be more overtly considered in the role of policy making and the value of the seven c’s model in revealing where integration could usefully be used to improve outcomes. third, we present a framework for analysing context that enables a systematic analysis of our case study. fourth, we link the knowledge management model and the contextual framework together and apply them to the policymaking example. lastly, we consider the lessons learned and how knowledge management and systematic contextual analysis can add value to the policymaking process.

Using multiple methods to understand the nature of relationships in social networks

ABSTRACT Effective natural resource management (NRM) often depends on collaboration through formal and informal relationships. Social network analysis (SNA) provides a framework for studying social relationships; however, a deeper understanding of the nature of these relationships is often missing. By integrating multiple analytical methods (including SNA, evidence ratings, and perception matrices), we were able to investigate the nature of relationships in NRM social networks across five service types (e.g., technical advice, on-ground support) in our case study region, Daly catchment Australia. Only one service type was rated as highly associated with free choice in establishing relationships: technical advice/knowledge. Beneficial characteristics of NRM organizations, such as collaborative and transparent, were associated with the presence of freely chosen relationships between organizations. Our results suggest a need to improve our understanding of organizational roles and characteristics, in particular for use in applied NRM contexts, such as network weaving or disseminating information.