Research or Engagement? Distinguishing the roles Social Sciences in Environmental Research as “Integration” and “Application”
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Most social scientists who work in interdisciplinary settings such as environmental or natural resources management agencies have experienced the perception that the social sciences, particularly sociology, anthropology, and geography, are primarily concerned with or primarily useful for public engagement. This has the effect of placing social science research in a secondary role to the biophysical sciences and can exclude or marginalize research on the individual or societal drivers and impacts of environmental problems. Social scientists often struggle to articulate the differences between social science research and public or community engagement when both involve interacting with the public. A framework for distinguishing between integration and application of social sciences in environmental research has been developed in two forthcoming publications to clarify the distinct yet complementary roles of social sciences in interdisciplinary applied research settings.
Integration is where social scientific research on an aspect of the problem at hand is conducted alongside research from other disciplines to answer jointly designed research questions. Application is where the existing body of social science methods and knowledge on things like best practices for stakeholder engagement, effective science communication, etc. is used to improve the application or translation of research. There are also areas of overlap, for example in the use of methods such as participant observation where social scientists interact with people in real-life settings, which can be used to collect data that helps answer a research question and build relationships that facilitate the sharing of research findings with stakeholders. This presentation presents the integration and application framework and its development based on two institutional research studies of social science integration: EPA Office of Research and Development inter-disciplinary research teams, and the National Climate Assessment. It also shares recommendations for improving integration of social and natural sciences in applied environmental research settings.