Ten facts from critical and interpretive social sciences for environmental research

Summary: The social sciences are crucial contributors to environmental research. Collectively, they provide insights on the economic, cultural, political, and psychological dimensions of sustainability challenges. Yet, efforts to mainstream the social sciences in environmental research are missing t...

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Main Authors: Jasper Montana, E.A. Welden, Lea May Anderson, Aoife Bennett, Andrea Byfuglien, Sophie Bhalla, Hannah Fair, Beth Greenhough, Caitlin Hafferty, Mark Hirons, Eric Mensah Kumeh, Victoria Maguire-Rajpaul, Constance L. McDermott, Mari Mulyani, Laura Picot
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:iScience
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225009976
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author Jasper Montana
E.A. Welden
Lea May Anderson
Aoife Bennett
Andrea Byfuglien
Sophie Bhalla
Hannah Fair
Beth Greenhough
Caitlin Hafferty
Mark Hirons
Eric Mensah Kumeh
Victoria Maguire-Rajpaul
Constance L. McDermott
Mari Mulyani
Laura Picot
author_facet Jasper Montana
E.A. Welden
Lea May Anderson
Aoife Bennett
Andrea Byfuglien
Sophie Bhalla
Hannah Fair
Beth Greenhough
Caitlin Hafferty
Mark Hirons
Eric Mensah Kumeh
Victoria Maguire-Rajpaul
Constance L. McDermott
Mari Mulyani
Laura Picot
author_sort Jasper Montana
collection DOAJ
description Summary: The social sciences are crucial contributors to environmental research. Collectively, they provide insights on the economic, cultural, political, and psychological dimensions of sustainability challenges. Yet, efforts to mainstream the social sciences in environmental research are missing the diversity of social science scholarship. Here, we contend that the critical and interpretive social sciences —which question and rethink established paradigms and power structures— have an invaluable, yet still underutilized, role. We propose that rethinking the focus, conduct, and goals of environmental research recognizing 10 facts from the critical and interpretive social sciences can help environmental research to better support desired transformative change for the benefit of both people and planet.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2589-0042
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publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series iScience
spelling doaj-art-a4e9d3250db8492da6c5cb4c5eafe1c32025-08-20T03:46:45ZengElsevieriScience2589-00422025-06-0128611273610.1016/j.isci.2025.112736Ten facts from critical and interpretive social sciences for environmental researchJasper Montana0E.A. Welden1Lea May Anderson2Aoife Bennett3Andrea Byfuglien4Sophie Bhalla5Hannah Fair6Beth Greenhough7Caitlin Hafferty8Mark Hirons9Eric Mensah Kumeh10Victoria Maguire-Rajpaul11Constance L. McDermott12Mari Mulyani13Laura Picot14Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, Australian National University, Acton, ACT 2612, Australia; School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK; Corresponding authorDepartment of Geography, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-4740, USA; Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK; Corresponding authorEnvironmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UKEnvironmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK; Amazon Sustainability Research Institute, Universidad de Ingeniería & Tecnología, Lima 15063, PeruEnvironmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UKEnvironmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK; Morwick G360 Groundwater Research Institute, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, CanadaSchool of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton, University Road, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UKSchool of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK; Keble College, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3PG, UKLeverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK; Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UKLeverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK; Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UKLeverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK; Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UKEnvironmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK; Global Sustainability Institute, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB1 1PT, UKLeverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK; Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UKEnvironmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UKEnvironmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UKSummary: The social sciences are crucial contributors to environmental research. Collectively, they provide insights on the economic, cultural, political, and psychological dimensions of sustainability challenges. Yet, efforts to mainstream the social sciences in environmental research are missing the diversity of social science scholarship. Here, we contend that the critical and interpretive social sciences —which question and rethink established paradigms and power structures— have an invaluable, yet still underutilized, role. We propose that rethinking the focus, conduct, and goals of environmental research recognizing 10 facts from the critical and interpretive social sciences can help environmental research to better support desired transformative change for the benefit of both people and planet.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225009976Environmental scienceSocial sciences
spellingShingle Jasper Montana
E.A. Welden
Lea May Anderson
Aoife Bennett
Andrea Byfuglien
Sophie Bhalla
Hannah Fair
Beth Greenhough
Caitlin Hafferty
Mark Hirons
Eric Mensah Kumeh
Victoria Maguire-Rajpaul
Constance L. McDermott
Mari Mulyani
Laura Picot
Ten facts from critical and interpretive social sciences for environmental research
iScience
Environmental science
Social sciences
title Ten facts from critical and interpretive social sciences for environmental research
title_full Ten facts from critical and interpretive social sciences for environmental research
title_fullStr Ten facts from critical and interpretive social sciences for environmental research
title_full_unstemmed Ten facts from critical and interpretive social sciences for environmental research
title_short Ten facts from critical and interpretive social sciences for environmental research
title_sort ten facts from critical and interpretive social sciences for environmental research
topic Environmental science
Social sciences
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225009976
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