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Epistemological Pluralism: Reorganizing Interdisciplinary Research

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dc.contributorGeography Department, Virginia Techen
dc.contributor.authorMiller, Thaddeus R.en
dc.contributor.authorBaird, Timothy D.en
dc.contributor.authorLittlefield, Caitlin M.en
dc.contributor.authorKofinas, Garyen
dc.contributor.authorChapin, F. Stuart IIIen
dc.contributor.authorRedman, Charles L.en
dc.contributor.departmentGeographyen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-10T19:44:21Zen
dc.date.available2014-03-10T19:44:21Zen
dc.date.issued2008en
dc.description.abstractDespite progress in interdisciplinary research, difficulties remain. In this paper, we argue that scholars, educators, and practitioners need to critically rethink the ways in which interdisciplinary research and training are conducted. We present epistemological pluralism as an approach for conducting innovative, collaborative research and study. Epistemological pluralism recognizes that, in any given research context, there may be several valuable ways of knowing, and that accommodating this plurality can lead to more successful integrated study. This approach is particularly useful in the study and management of social–ecological systems. Through resilience theory's adaptive cycle, we demonstrate how a focus on epistemological pluralism can facilitate the reorganization of interdisciplinary research and avoid the build-up of significant, but insufficiently integrative, disciplinary-dominated research. Finally, using two case studies—urban ecology and social–ecological research in Alaska—we highlight how interdisciplinary work is impeded when divergent epistemologies are not recognized and valued, and that by incorporating a pluralistic framework, these issues can be better explored, resulting in more integrated understanding.en
dc.description.sponsorshipNSF IGERT Grant No. 0504248 in Urban Ecology to the Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State Universityen
dc.description.sponsorshipIGERT Grant No. 0333193 in Population and Environment to the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hillen
dc.description.sponsorshipIGERT Grant No. 0630050 in Resilience and Adaptation to the University of Alaska Fairbanksen
dc.description.sponsorshipIGERT Grant No. 0549407 in CHANGE at the University of Wisconsin, Madisonen
dc.identifier.citationMiller, T. R., T. D. Baird, C. M. Littlefield, G. Kofinas, F. Chapin, III, and C. L. Redman. 2008. Epistemological pluralism: reorganizing interdisciplinary research. Ecology and Society 13(2): 46. [online] URL: http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol13/iss2/art46/en
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-009-9264-zen
dc.identifier.issn1708-3087en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/25866en
dc.identifier.urlhttp://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol13/iss2/art46/en
dc.language.isoen_USen
dc.publisherThe Resilience Allianceen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectadaptive cycleen
dc.subjectepistemologyen
dc.subjectinterdisciplinaryen
dc.titleEpistemological Pluralism: Reorganizing Interdisciplinary Researchen
dc.title.serialEcology and Societyen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden

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