Ecosystem Management Research: Clarifying the Concept of Interdisciplinary Work

Abstract

Ecosystem management (EM) is a process for addressing environmental problems. It draws on research from multiple disciplines in order to ensure long-term maintenance of socio-ecological systems. The present study evaluates the definition of interdisciplinary work among researchers involved in generating data use (EM). The goal is twofold: to generate further discussions in research supporting EM, and to better situate this research in the broader context of interdisciplinary science. Using an online questionnaire, data was collected from 119 researchers. A cluster analysis identified both distinct and shared understandings of the concept. A logistic regression analysis identified the extent to which personal characteristics and researchers’ understandings of interdisciplinary theory determine definitions of interdisciplinary work. Researchers differ on the terminology but share an understanding about what it is: both a ‘way to do research’ and a ‘way of thinking about research’. Differences between researchers suggest a growing interest in developing deeper engagements with theoretical discussions of interdisciplinarity. Results are discussed in the context of the current state of development of research for EM and its contributions to sustainability.

Keywords:

• ecosystem management
• interdisciplinarity
• sustainability

This project was supported by a scholarship from the Mexican National Science and Technology Council (CONACYT; scholarship 205603/228694) and with research funds made available by the Killam Foundation. First author is grateful for the support of the Community, Health and Environment Research Centre at the University of Alberta, which was fundamental for this study. Authors thank the people who agreed to participate in this study. Thanks are also extended to our two external reviewers for their constructive feedback and the help of Professor McCarty in revising earlier drafts of the paper.

Notes

1 The elimination of cases not presenting all necessary data can mean a loss of potentially useful information and a reduction in the power of the analysis performed. However, numbers presented in Tables 2, 3 and 4 suggest that even including the 119 respondents tendencies and associations detected would not change.

2 See Note 1.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Anna Pujadas Botey

Anna Pujadas Botey obtained her PhD in Human Geography at the University of Alberta. She is interested in interdisciplinary ecosystem management research and its role in solving environmental problems. She has taught three courses related to environmental research and published four peer-reviewed journal articles and four chapters on this topic.

Correspondence to: Anna Pujadas Botey, Human Geography Program, Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta. Edmonton, AB. Canada T6G2E3. Email: [email protected]

Theresa Garvin

Theresa Garvin is Associate Professor of Geography and Director of the Community, Health and Environment Research Centre at the University of Alberta. She has experience leading multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral research projects throughout the Americas, and has over 20 peer-reviewed publications examining human-environment relations.

Correspondence to: Theresa Garvin, Human Geography Program, Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta. Edmonton, AB. Canada T6G2E3. Email: [email protected]

Rick Szostak

Rick Szostak is Professor of Economics at the University of Alberta. He teaches courses on interdisciplinary research and in STS as well as economics. He is the author of nine books. The most recent, The Causes of Economic Growth: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, applies the interdisciplinary research process to the study of economic growth. Much of his recent research addresses how knowledge organization systems (such as library catalogues) could better serve interdisciplinary scholarship.

Rick Szostak, Correspondence to: Department of Economics. University of Alberta. Edmonton, AB. Canada T6G2R3. Email: [email protected]