Combining research styles of the natural and social sciences in agricultural research

Figures & data

Fig. 1 Context–mechanism–outcome configuration: Given a certain context (C), a number of mechanisms (M_1,…,n) may cause X to change into Y, leading to a new outcome (which in turn is a changed context).

Fig. 2 Four basic styles of social science research.

Based on [6] and [33].

Fig. 3 Examples of social and natural science disciplines with a perceived bias towards a particular research style.

Fig. 4 Four basic research styles in the natural and social sciences, and humanities.