An analysis of the methodological underpinnings of social learning research in natural resource management

Romina Rodela, Georgina Cundill and Arjen E.J. Wals

Ecological Economics, 2012, vol. 77, issue C, 16-26

Abstract: This analysis is focused on research that uses a social learning approach to study natural resource issues. We map out the prevailing epistemological orientation of social learning research through the de-construction of the methodological choices reported in current social learning literature. Based on an analysis of 54 empirical investigations of social learning and natural resources published after peer review, we investigated aspects of research design that include data collection methods, evidence types and the researcher's role. We consider these against different research-orientations (positivist, interpretive, critical, and post-normal). We discuss which research-orientation appears most congruent with the overall commitment and premises of social learning studies. In line with initial expectations this study shows that positivist stances are hardly present, however research that follows a postnormal approach is less frequent than initially assumed. Instead, findings suggest that researchers using a social learning perspective to study resource issues tend to choose methodologies that allow for in-depth descriptions, for meaning making and enquiry as a form of action.

Keywords: Social learning; Natural resource management; Methodology; Methods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800912000961
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:77:y:2012:i:c:p:16-26

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2012.02.032

Access Statistics for this article

Ecological Economics is currently edited by C. J. Cleveland

More articles in Ecological Economics from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().