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Editorial arrangement Nicholas Clifford, Meghan Cope, Thomas Gillespie & Shaun French 2016

Chapter 1 Nicholas Clifford, Meghan Cope, Tom Gillespie, Shaun French & Gill Valentine 2016

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1 Getting Started in Geographical Research: How This Book Can HelpNick Clifford, Meghan Cope, Tom Gillespie, Shaun French and Gill Valentine

SYNOPSIS

Geography is a very diverse subject that includes studies of human behaviour, the built and the imagined world, the physical environment extending to biological, ecological and geophysical systems, and increasingly, to the intersections between these. It is also a discipline that embraces a very diverse range of philosophical approaches to knowledge (from positivism to post-structuralism) and from the representation of social and physical relationships to those which focus much more on experience and the practices which embody this. As such, geographers employ quantitative methods (statistics and mathematical modelling) and qualitative methods (a set of techniques such as interviewing, participant observation and visual imagery that are used to explore subjective meanings, values and emotions) or a combination of the two. These methods can be used in both extensive research designs (where the emphasis is on pattern and regularity in large ‘representative’ data sets, which is assumed to represent the outcome of some underlying (causal) regularity or process) and intensive research designs (where the emphasis is on describing a single case study, or small number of case studies, with the maximum amount of detail). Geographical research may also be undertaken individually or in teams, and adopt a multi-, inter- or transdiciplinary research methodology. Yet, despite this diversity, all geographers, whatever their philosophical or methodological approach, must make common decisions and go through common processes when they are embarking on their research. This means doing preparatory work (a literature review, thinking about health and safety and research ethics); thinking through the practicalities of data collection (whether to do original fieldwork or rely on secondary sources; whether to use quantitative or qualitative methods or a combination of both); planning how to manage and analyse the data generated from these techniques; and thinking about how to present/write up the findings of the research. This chapter aims to guide you through these choices if you are doing research for a project or dissertation. In doing so, it explains the structure and content of this book and points you in the direction of which chapters to turn to for advice on different forms of research techniques and analysis.

This chapter is organized into the following sections:

• Introduction: The nature of geographical research • Quantitative and qualitative approaches to geography • Designing a geographical research project • The philosophy of research and importance of research design • Conclusion: How this book can help you get started

01_Clifford_Ch-01_Section-1.indd 3 18-Apr-16 10:57:54 AM

4 Key Methods in Geography

1.1 Introduction: The Nature of Geographical Research

This book aims to help you prepare for, design and carry out geographical research, and to analyse and present your findings. Geographers have given attention to an enormous range of subject matters. Most aspects of the world, whether physically or environmentally determined, or politically, economically or culturally constructed and experienced, have been considered as suitable for geographical research. Moreover, the range of geographical enquiry continues to increase. Traditionally, geographers consid-ered the contemporary human and physical world together with their historical configurations, thus extending geographies to the past as well as to the present. Now, in both physical and human geography, the range is even greater (see, for example, Walford and Haggett, 1995; Gregory, 2000; Thrift, 2002; Gregory, 2009). Physical geographers have access to new techniques of absolute and relative environmental dat-ing and mathematical modelling, and physical geography is increasingly conducted under the umbrella of ‘Earth System Science’ which stresses interconnections between bio-physical atmospheric and earth science, and also includes human activity as a driver of, or response to, earth and environmental change (Pitman, 2005). In human geography, technological advances in areas such as GIS allow more flexible and more creative analysis of data, facilitating ‘virtual geographies’ which exist only in ‘hyper-space’. Both physical and human geography are, in common with other academic subjects, in the midst of a revolution or ‘fourth paradigm’ in research marked by the appearance of Big Data approaches where the large amounts of data routinely cap-tured in an increasingly networked and digital world can be used in combination with analytical and visualization technologies to reinterpret more enduring themes of peo-ple, place and process (Graham and Shelton, 2013; Kitchin, 2014; Wyly, 2014). This Big Data revolution follows what have been seen as three other major shifts or para-digms in research techniques and research environment: experimental, theoretical and computational. The challenges and opportunities presented by ubiquitous digital data are, in turn, related to the phenomenon of globalization and to some fundamental reconceptualizations of more traditional questions relating to nature, culture and soci-ety, and to questions of the scale of enquiry (Clifford, 2009). ‘The Anthropocene’ (Crutzen and Stoermer, 2000) is now a commonplace shorthand to encapsulate an epoch of unprecedented human influence on the environment. In a period of unprec-edented technical, economic and environmental change, it is crucial to remember that Geography is by necessity a subject of essential hybridities and of new discourses of enquiry (Whatmore, 2002; Lorimer, 2012; Castree, 2014; Johnston and Moorhouse, 2014). As such, the subject is probing areas traditionally within the domains of psy-chology and cultural anthropology: there are now, for example, imagined and mystic geographies, whose foundations, or connections with the ‘real’ world, are almost entirely interpretational, rather than empirical, and where feeling and emotion (the ‘affective’) are essential avenues of research (Thien, 2005; Pile, 2010). Physical geogra-phers, too, are exploring the role of narrative, discourse and ethnographies in describing and explaining otherwise natural processes and landforms (Tadaki et al., 2012; Brierley et al., 2013; Wilcock et al., 2013); and more radically, in linking to questions of resource allocation and equity in emerging critical physical geographies (Lave et al., 2014). Nevertheless, older, but enduring questions of scale and place remain (see, for example, Richards and Clifford, 2008). All of these new areas of geographical


5Getting Started in Geographical Research

exploration bring challenges of interpretation, as methods of research associated with them may be radically different (even fundamentally irreconcilable with one another), or so new that they have yet to be formalized into transferable schemes to inform other research programmes. As such, an open, methodological pluralism is increasingly being championed (DeLyser and Sui, 2014).

Until the 1980s, geography was cast largely as either a physical (environmental or geological) science, a social science, or some combination of the two. This implied a commonality of objective, if not entirely of method: there was a shared commitment to the goal of ‘general’ explanation. More recently, however, some would dispute the use of the term ‘science’ in any of its forms in certain areas of subject (for an excel-lent introduction to debates surrounding science – its meaning, construction and application – see Chalmers, 2013). Instead, the ‘cultural’ turn in human geography (which in part reflects the growing influence of feminist and post-structural approaches) has brought a new emphasis on meanings, representation, emotions and so on that is more readily associated with the arts. Non-representational theory has challenged traditional approaches insofar as the purpose and focus of research are less on representing and explaining the outcomes or products of social interactions, and more on experiences and practices (Thrift, 2007). (These issues are discussed in more detail in texts such as Cloke et al., 2013; Cresswell, 2014, and Nayak and Jeffrey, 2011, and in various chapters in Clifford et al., 2009.)

Given the breadth of geographical enquiry, it is not surprising that the subject is similarly broad with respect to the methods it employs, and the philosophical and ethical stances it adopts. This book reflects the diversity of contemporary geography, both in the number, and the range of chapters which it contains. In this chapter, we want to briefly introduce you to different approaches to research methods and design, and to offer some guidance on how you might develop your own research design for a geographical project using this book.

1.2 Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches to Geography

The chapters in the book loosely deal with two forms of data collection/analysis: quan-titative and qualitative methods and techniques. Quantitative methods involve the use of physical (science) concepts and reasoning, mathematical modelling and statistical tech-niques to understand geographical phenomena. These form the basis of most research in physical geography. They first began to be adopted by human geographers in the 1950s, but it was in the 1960s – a period dubbed the ‘quantitative revolution’ – that their appli-cation became both more widespread and more sophisticated in Anglo-American geography. It was at this time that, influenced by the ‘scientific’ approaches to human behaviour that were being adopted by social sciences such as economics and psychology, some human geographers began to be concerned with scientific rigour in their own research. In particular, they began to use quantitative methods to develop hypotheses and to explain, predict and model human spatial behaviour and decision making (Johnston, 2003; Barnes, 2014). (Collectively, the adoption of ‘objective’, quantified means of col-lecting data, hypothesis testing and generalizing explanations is known as positivism.) Much of this work was applied to planning and locational decision making (see founda-tional early works by Haggett, 1965; Abler et al., 1971).



In the 1970s, however, some geographers began to criticize positivist approaches to geography, particularly the application of ‘objective’ scientific methods that conceptual-ized people as rational actors (Cloke et al., 2013). Rather, the geographers adopting a humanistic approach argued that human behaviour is, in fact, subjective, complex, messy, irrational and contradictory. As such, humanistic geographers began to draw on methods that would allow them to explore the meanings, emotions, intentions and val-ues that make up our taken-for-granted lifeworlds (Ley, 1974; Seamon, 1979). These included methods such as in-depth interviews, participant observation and focus groups. At the same time, Marxist geographers criticized the apolitical nature of positivist approaches, accusing those who adopted them for failing to recognize the way that sci-entific methods, and the spatial laws and models they produced, might reproduce capitalism (Harvey, 1973). More recently, feminist and post-structuralist approaches to geography have criticized the ‘grand theories’ of positivism and Marxism, and their fail-ure to recognize people’s multiple subjectivities. Instead, the emphasis is on refining qualitative methods to allow the voice of informants to be heard in ways which are non-exploitative or oppressive (WGSG, 1997; Moss, 2001) and to focus on the politics of knowledge production, particularly in terms of the positionality of the researcher and the way ‘other’ people and places are represented (see articles in two special issues (1/2) of Environment and Planning: D, 1992; Moss, 2001).

Humanistic inquiry did not just prompt interest in people’s own account of their experiences, but also in how these experiences are represented in texts, literature, art, fiction and so on (Pocock, 1981; Daniels, 1985). Again, such visual methodologies have also been informed and developed by the emergence of post-structuralist approaches to geography which have further stimulated human geographers’ concerns with issues of representation.

Despite the evolving nature of geographical thought and practice, both quantitative and qualitative approaches remain important within the discipline of Geography. While taken at face value they appear to be incompatible ways of ‘doing’ research, it is important not to see these two approaches as binary opposites. Subjective concerns often inform the development and use of quantitative methods. Likewise, it is also pos-sible to work with qualitative material in quite scientific ways. Whatever methods are adopted, some degree of philosophical reflection is required to make sense of the research process. Equally, the two approaches are often combined in research designs in a process known as mixing methods (see below).

1.3 Designing a Geographical Research Project

Faced with a bewildering array of possibilities, both in what to study and in how to approach this study, it may seem that geographical research is difficult to do well. However, the very range of geographical enquiry is also a source of excitement and encouragement. The key is to harness this variety, rather than to be overwhelmed by it. Essentially, geographical research requires perhaps more thought than any of the other human or physical academic disciplines. Whether this thought is exercised with the assistance of some formal scheme of how to structure the research programme, or whether it is exercised self-critically, or reflexively in a much less formal sense, is less important than the awareness of the opportunities, limitations and context of the research question chosen, the appropriateness of the research methods selected, the



range of techniques used to gather, sort and display information, and ultimately, the manner and intent with which the research findings are presented. For student pro-jects, these questions are as much determined by practical considerations, such as the time available for the project, or the funding to undertake the research. These limita-tions should be built into the project at an early stage, so that the likely quality of the outcomes can be judged in advance. None of the constraints should be used after the research is completed to justify a partial answer or unnecessarily restricted project.

The ‘scientific’ view

Conventionally, geographical research programmes have been presented as a sequence of steps, or procedures (Haring and Lounsbury, 1992 – see below). These steps were based upon the premise that geography was an essentially scientific activity, that is, a subject identifying research questions, testing hypotheses regarding possible causal relationships, and presenting the results with some sort of more general (normative) statement or context. The aim of separating tasks was to enable time (and money) to be budgeted effectively between each, and to encourage a structuring of the thought processes underpinning the research.

The steps identified in this form of ‘scientific geographic research’ (Haring and Lounsbury, 1992) are as follows:

• Formulation of the research problem – which means asking a question in a precise, testable manner, and which requires consideration of the place and time-scale of the work.

• Definition of hypotheses – the generation of one or more assumptions which are used as the basis of investigation, and which are subsequently tested by the research.

• Determination of the type of data to be collected – how much, in what manner is sampling or measurement to be done.

• Collection of data – either primary from the field or archive, or secondary, from the analysis of published materials.

• Analysis and processing of the data – selecting appropriate quantitative and presen-tational techniques.

• Stating conclusions – nowadays, this might also include the presentation of findings verbally or in publication.

Today, there is more recognition that these tasks are not truly independent, and that an element of reflexivity might usefully be incorporated in this process. In some areas of the subject – particularly human geography – the entire notion of a formalized pro-cedure or sequence would be considered unnecessary, and the notion of normative, problem-solving science would, at best, be considered applicable to a restricted range of subjects and methodology. Rather, as outlined above, many human geographers now reject or are sceptical of scientific approaches to human behaviour, preferring to adopt a more subjective approach to their research. Nevertheless, having said this, most qualitative research also involves many of the same steps outlined in the mechan-ical or scientific formulation above – albeit not conceptualized in quite the same way.



For example, qualitative researchers also need to think about what research questions to ask, what data need to be collected and how this material should be analysed and presented. In other words, all research in Geography – whatever its philosophical stance – involves thinking about the relationships between methods, techniques, analysis and interpretation. This important role is filled by research design.

The importance of research design

In its broadest sense, research design results from a series of decisions we make as researchers. These decisions flow from our knowledge of the academic literature (see Chapter 4), the research questions we want to ask, what is safe and ethical, especially in contexts which might be less familiar to ourselves (see Chapters 2, 3 and 6) our conceptual framework, and our knowledge of the advantage and disadvantages of different techniques (see Section 2 on Human Geography, Section 3 on Physical Geography, and Section 4 on some common aspects of geographical analysis). The research design should be an explicit part of the research: it should show that you have thought about how, what, where, when and why!

There are at least six key points you need to keep in mind to formulate a convincing research design:

(1) Think about what research questions to ask

On the basis of your own thinking about the topic, the relevant theoretical and empir-ical literatures (see Chapter 4), and consulting secondary material (see especially Chapter 7, 16 and 30) – and if possible having discussed it with other students and your tutor – you need to move towards framing your specific research questions. For a human geographer, these might include questions about what discourses you can iden-tify, what patterns of behaviour/activity you can determine, what events, beliefs, and attitudes are shaping people’s actions, who is affected by the issue under consideration and in what ways, and how social relations are played out, and so on. For a physical geographer, these might include questions concerning the rate of operation and location of a certain geomorphological process, the morphology of a selected set of landforms, or the abundance and diversity of particular plant or animal species in a given area (many of the chapters in this volume provide examples of research problems).

It is important to have a strong focus to your research questions rather than adopting a scatter-gun approach asking a diverse range of unconnected questions. This also means bearing in mind the time and resource constraints on your research (see below). At the same time as you develop a set of core aims it is also important to remain flexible, and to remember that unanticipated themes can emerge during the course of fieldwork which redefine the relevance of different research questions, likewise, access or other practical problems can prevent some research aims being fulfilled and lead to a shift in the focus of the work. As such, you should be aware that your research questions may evolve during the course of your project.

(2) Think about the most appropriate method(s) to employ

There is no set recipe for this: different methods have particular strengths and collect different forms of empirical material. The most appropriate method(s) for your research



will therefore depend on the questions you want to ask and the sort of information you want to generate. Chapters 7–29 outline the advantages and disadvantages of core meth-ods used by human and physical geographers. While many projects in human and physical geography involve going out into the field – for example to interview or observe people, or to take samples or measurements – it is also possible to do your research without leaving your computer, living room or the library. For example, research can be based on visual imagery such as films and television programmes (Chapters 15 and 38); the virtual worlds of the Internet (Chapters 16 and 17); secondary sources including contemporary and historical/archival material (Chapter 7); or GIS and remote sensing (Chapters 18, 25, 27 and 37). Some human geographers are also experimenting with conducting research using diaries (Chapter 10) and extending research into the domains of emotion and deeper analysis of texts (Chapters 12 and 14).

In the process of research design it is important not to view each of these methods as an either/or choice. Rather, it is possible (and often desirable) to mix methods. This process of drawing on different sources or perspectives is known as triangulation. The term comes from surveying, where it describes using different bearings to give the cor-rect position. Thus, researchers can use multiple methods or different sources of information to try and maximize an understanding of a research question. These might be both qualitative and quantitative (see, for example, Sporton, 1999). Different tech-niques should each contribute something unique to the project (perhaps addressing a different research question or collecting a new type of data) rather than merely being repetitive of each other.

(3) Think about what data you will produce and how to manage these

An intrinsic element of your choice of method should not only involve reflecting on the technique itself, but also how you intend to analyse and interpret the data that you will produce. Chapters 8 and 9 demonstrate how to bring a rigorous analysis to bear on interview transcripts/diary material, while Chapters 19 and 30–37 discuss some of the issues you need to think about when deciding which statistical techniques to apply to quantitative data. Chapters 20–29 concentrate on methods most likely to be impor-tant in Physical Geography, and Chapter 29 looks at putting some of these into practice in environmental audit and appraisal. While qualitative techniques (Chapters 11–15 and 36 and 38) emphasize quality, depth, richness and understanding, instead of the statistical representativeness and scientific rigour which are associated with quantitative techniques, this does not mean that they can be used without any thought. Rather, they should be approached in as rigorous a way as quantitative techniques.

(4) Think about the practicalities of doing fieldwork

The nitty-gritty practicalities of who, what, when, where, and for how long inevitably shape the choices we can make about our aims, methods, sample size, and the amount of data we have the time to analyse and manage (see Chapter 19 on sampling and Chapter 8 on handling large amounts of qualitative data using computer software). Increasingly, the kind of work which is permissible is constrained by changing attitudes and legislative requirements with respect to safety and risk, which ultimately define the range and scale of what you can achieve (see, for example, Chapter 2 on the health and



safety and risk assessment in fieldwork). It is important to bear in mind that the research which is written up by academics in journals and books is often conducted over several years and is commonly funded by substantial grants. Thus, the scale this sort of research is conducted on is very different to that at which student research pro-jects must be pitched. It is not possible to replicate or fully develop in a three-month student dissertation or project all of the objectives of a two-year piece of academic research that you may have uncovered in your literature review! Rather, it is often best to begin by identifying the limitations of your proposed study and recognizing what you will and will not be able to say at the end of it. Remember that doing qualitative or quantitative work in human geography, just like fieldwork in physical geography, requires a lot of concentration and mental energy. It is both stressful and tiring, so there is a limit to how much you can achieve in the field in any one day. Other practicalities such as the availability of field equipment, tape recorders, cameras, transcribers or access to transport can also define the parameters of your project, and there are impor-tant considerations when working overseas and in different cultures (Chapter 6) as well as when using details from case studies to make wider generalisations (Chapter 33).

Drawing up a time-management chart or work schedule at the research-design stage can be an effective way of working out how much you can achieve in your study, and later on can also serve as a useful indicator if you are slipping behind. While planning ahead (and in doing so, drawing on the experience of your tutor and other researchers) is crucial to developing an effective research design, it is also important to remember that you should always remain flexible.

(5) Think about the ethical issues you need to consider

An awareness of the ethical issues which are embedded in your proposed research ques-tions and possible methodologies must underpin your final decisions about the research design. The most common ethical dilemmas in human geography focus around: partici-pation, consent, confidentiality/safeguarding personal information, and giving something back (see Alderson, 1995; Valentine, 1999). In physical geography, ethical issues involve not only questions of consent (for example to access field sites on private land) but also the potential impacts of the research techniques on the environment (e.g. pollution). Thus, while ethical issues may seem routine or moral questions rather than anything which is intrinsic to the design of a research project, in practice they actually underpin what we do. They can shape what questions we can ask, where we make observations, who we talk to, and where, when, and in what order. These choices in turn may have consequences for what sort of material we collect, how it can be analysed and used, and what we do with it when the project is at an end. As such ethics are not a politically correct add-on but should always be at the heart of any research design (see Chapter 3 for an overview of ethical issues, Chapters 12 and 13 for the specific ethics of participa-tory research, Chapter 6 about the specific ethical issues involved working in different cultural contexts and Chapter 16 regarding ethical issues in Internet-mediated research).

(6) Think about the form in which your research is to be presented

The scale and scope of your research design will partially be shaped by your motiva-tions for doing the research and what you intend to use the findings for. If you are



presenting your findings in a dissertation it will very different to a piece of work than if it is to be presented as a report or in a verbal seminar. Chapter 5 outlines presen-tational strategies and styles, and these are illustrated in detail in the various chapters of Section 4.

1.4 The Philosophy of Research and Importance of Research Design

Intensive and Extensive Research

The most basic, formal, distinction in research design is that between extensive and intensive approaches (also known as ‘cross-sectional’ and ‘longitudinal’). The important aspects of these contrasting approaches have been explored in some detail for the social sciences by Sayer (2010). This book is an ideal and thought-provoking introduction to the ways in which research seeks to make sense of a complex world. Sayer reviews theories of causation and explanation in which ‘events’ (what we observe) are thought to reflect the operation of ‘mechanisms’ which, in turn, are determined by basic, underlying ‘structures’ in the world. The way in which explanations are obtained reflects differing degrees of ‘concrete’ and ‘abstract’ research – that is, how much our generalizations rely on observation, and how much they rely on interpretation of the ways in which events, mecha-nisms and structures are related. In the physical sciences, more attention has been given to the broader topic of scientific explanation of which research design is a part, but recently the implications of extensive and intensive research designs and the varying philosophies of research have begun to be explored within physical geography as well (e.g. Richards, 1996).

Both extensive and intensive designs are concerned with the relationship between individual observations drawn from measurement programmes or case studies, and the ability to generalize on the basis of these observations. The detailed distinctions are illustrated in Table 1.1 but the essential differences are as follows:

• In an extensive research design, the emphasis is on pattern and regularity in data, which are assumed to represent the outcome of some underlying (causal) regularity or process. Usually, large numbers of observations are taken from many case studies so as to ensure a ‘representative’ dataset, and this type of design is sometimes referred to as the ‘large-n’ type of study.

• In an intensive research design, the emphasis is on describing a single, or small number of case studies with the maximum amount of detail. This approach is therefore sometimes known as the ‘small-n’ type of study. In anthropology, the term ‘thick description’ has been used (Geertz, 2000). In an intensive design, by thoroughly appreciating the operation of one physical or social system, or by immersion in one culture or social group, elements of a more fundamental, causal nature are sought. ‘Explanation’ is therefore concerned with disclosing the links between events, mechanisms and structures. General explanations are derived from identification of the structures underlying observation, and from the possible trans-ferring of the linkages discovered from detailed ‘instantiations’.



Importantly, both approaches may be undertaken in quantitative or qualitative fashions – there is no necessary distinction in the techniques used. The two approaches are, however, separated to some extent in their philosophical underpinnings, and, more obviously, in the practical, logistical requirements they impose.

Philosophically, the extensive approach relies on the idea that a data pattern nec-essarily reflects an underlying cause or process, which is obscured only by measurement error, or ‘noise’. However, in the ‘real’ world, it is rare that one cause would lead directly, or simply, to another ‘effect’ – the chain of causation is more obscure, and ‘noise’ may be an essential part of the ‘causation’, reflecting the pres-ence of some other (unknown or uncontrolled) effect which merely mimics the apparent pattern. There is the related problem of being unable to explain individual occurrences on the basis of ‘average’ behaviour of entire groups – the so-called eco-logical fallacy. In an intensive research design, there is a deeper appreciation of the ‘layers’ which separate observations from an underlying (causal) reality. As such (and at the risk of considerable oversimplification) extensive approaches have often been linked to positivist methodology and philosophy, and intensive approaches to realist methodologies and philosophies.

Practically, the different types of research design have clearly different require-ments in both data type and amount, and with respect to cost and time. The extensive design lends itself to situations where large amounts of data are already published, or where large amounts of data can be generated from secondary sources. In many stu-dent projects, the need for many observations across comparative or contrasting field sites may be too daunting or logistically impossible if an attempt is made to mount an extensive research design-based upon primary data sources. An exception to this is in laboratory-type studies, where a series of experiments may quickly build up a dataset representative of a wider range of conditions. The intensive design is perhaps more common, but care is needed to ‘tease out’ those aspects of the study which might disclose basic, causal processes.

Table 1.1 The essential differences between extensive and intensive research designs

Notes Intensive Extensive

Research question

How? What? Why? In a certain case or example

How representative is a feature, pattern, or attribute of a population?

Type of explanation

Causes are elucidated through in-depth examination and interpretation

Representative generalizations are produced from repeated studies or large samples

Typical methods of research

Case study. Ethnography.

Qualitative analysis

Questionnaires. Large-scale surveys. Statistical analysis.

Limitations Relationships discovered will not be ‘representative’ or an average/generalization

Explanation is a generalization – it is difficult to relate to the individual observation

Generalization is specific to the group/population in question

Philosophy Method and explanation rely on discovering the connection between events, mechanisms and causal properties

Explanation based upon formal relations of similarity and identification of taxonomic groups

Source: Based on Sayer (2010, Figure 13, p. 163–4)



Multi-, Inter- and Transdisciplinary Research

Geography, along with most other subjects investigating the intersection of the human and natural worlds, is increasingly faced with problems which are both more complex, and those which are less clearly defined and where outcomes are less easy to predict. Climate change provides perhaps the best example, but issues of water, energy and food security – now often seen as ‘nexus studies’ – or urbanization, devel-opment and sustainability are similar examples. It is likely that your own research may be connected broadly with such issues, even if only to provide a context for the project you are doing, or if you are taking your place in a larger research team or study. Faced with problems of increasing scale and reduced certainty, and with a need to maintain an applied or policy focus, research is increasingly categorized in terms of its degree of ’integration’ between disciplines, perspectives or methodolo-gies, and, as well, by the degree to which the research problems, issues and research designs lie in the hands of the researcher themselves, or are co-designed (that is, the extent to which they are ‘participatory’ of academics and non-academics, such as stakeholders – see Figure 1.1).

Explained in more detail, the degree of integration describes firstly the degree to which methods, concepts, techniques, data and other knowledge are integrated across different disciplines; and secondly the extent to which there is integration across scales and sectors from local to global, from nations and cultures and across science and society (Mauser et al., 2013). Participation in the design, delivery and interpretation of the research process includes: co-design of a research agenda, to identify questions, methods and techniques which are of relevance and which are manageable and useful; co-production of knowledge in which investigators and stakeholders are in a dialogue to ensure that expertise, methods and results remain relevant to an original agenda; and finally, co-dissemination of results, where special-ist, formal results are presented to, translated for, and shared by the widest possible audience (Mauser et al., 2013: 427–8).

Academic +non-academic

participants

Participatory(may not be research)

Multidisciplinary

Low integration High integration

Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability

Transdisciplinary

Interdisciplinary

Parallel Integrative

Academicparticipants

Figure 1.1 Multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary research characteristics defined in terms of integration and participation. From Tress et al. (2004, Figure 2) as reproduced in Mauser et al. (2013)



Overlaying this generic classification of research are the terms multi-, inter- and transdisciplinarity. The following short descriptions are based largely on the article by Stock and Burton (2011). Multi-disciplinary research brings together work and work-ers from various academic disciplines, each of which has their own or disciplinary perspective on a shared issue. Research is coordinated, in that results and perspectives are brought together in the end reporting of the results and conclusions, but it is not truly integrated. Interdisciplinary research is explicitly integrated – pursuit of a shared goal forces those engaged in research to generate new knowledge. Instead of simply contributing a set of multiple knowledges or approaches to a problem, the problem is shared and each knowledge set is seen from a different perspective. Interdisciplinary research is, therefore, both more collaborative/participatory and more integrated – there is a jointly identified problem, methodology and analysis. Transdisciplinarity moves beyond this – it involves multiple academic perspectives and participants and, crucially, non-academics. The aim is to generate (social) scientific work and decision-making capabilities, focusing on the problem rather than the discipline involved, and bridging across between experts, lay, science and non-science. Transdisciplinarity is the clearest attempt to address complex issues, with combination of knowledge types and plurality of methods, and a combination of participants in the research. Lang et al. in part summarize the work of other authors to highlight three essential aspects of transdisciplinary study:

(a) focusing on societally relevant problems; (b) enabling mutual learning processes among researchers from different disciplines (from within academia and from other research institutions), as well as actors from outside academia; and (c) aiming at creating knowledge that is solution-oriented, socially robust … and transferable to both the scientific and societal practice. With regards to the latter, it is important to consider that transdisciplinarity can serve different functions, including capacity building and legitimization…(2014: 27)

Key characteristics of the three kinds of research are presented in Figure 1.2.

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Figure 1.2 Characteristics of multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary research. Stock and Burton (2011, Figure 1)



1.5 Conclusion: How This Book Can Help You Get Started

Geographical research is complicated, because geographical phenomena are many and varied, and because they may transcend multiple scales in space and time. Further, over the last few decades, geographers have adopted a diverse range of philosophic stances, methods and research designs in their efforts to understand and interpret the human and physical worlds. In order to make sense of this vari-ety in a research context, a considerable amount of thought must go into geographical research at all of its stages. Although the prospect of embarking on your own research might seem daunting, this book has been put together to help make it easier for you. The first six chapters all offer advice and guidance about how to plan, prepare and contextualize your research project. This chapter has explained the process of research design; Chapter 2 explains the practical and logistical issues you need to plan for in terms of your own health and safety in the field; Chapter 3 raises some of the ethical issues you might need to consider in your research design; Chapter 4 describes how to do a literature search to help define your topic and research questions; ; and Chapter 5 outlines some of the ways you might eventually present your work. Chapter 6 considers these issues within the specific situations of working in different cultural contexts and doing participatory research.

Other sections of the book focus on generating and working with data, first in Human Geography (Chapters 7–19), and then Physical Geography (Chapters 20–29); the final section offers more detail on techniques to analyse, visualize and interpret geographical data across the widest subject range. You will obviously not want to use all of the chapters, but by reading across them you will get a feel for the different ways that you might approach the same topic, and the advantages and disadvantages of dif-ferent methods. When you have developed your own research design the chapter(s) appropriate to your chosen method(s) will give you practical advice about how to go about your research.

As with this chapter, each chapter in the book contains a synopsis at the beginning which briefly defines the content of the chapter and outlines the way it is structured. At the end of each chapter is a summary of key points and an annotated list of key further readings. Several of the chapters also contain boxed tips or useful exercises to develop your understanding of the topic in question. For each chapter, there is a WWW resource of material taken from the journals Progress in Human Geography and Progress in Physical Geography. These provide an essential follow-up on the key topics you will encounter and would wish to explore further. For some chapters, there is additional material online as detailed after the conclusions.

Doing your own research can be one of the most rewarding aspects of a degree. It is your chance to explore something that really interests or motivates you and to con-tribute to geographical knowledge, so enjoy it. And good luck!

SUMMARY

• Geographers are faced with a vast array of potential subject matters and techniques for data collection, visualization and analysis.

• Research design is crucial to link data collection, methods and techniques together, and to produce convincing, meaningful results.



• The basic choice in research design is between extensive and intensive designs. These have very different implications in terms of data collection, analysis and interpretation, although both quantitative and qualitative methods may be used in either. You may also consider the wider context of your research and research methodology, and consider whether your research represents part of a multi-, inter- or transdisciplinary approach.

• Whichever form of research design is adopted, the ethical dimension of research must be considered.

• Frequently, practical issues of land access, time or financial constraints, or field safety will, together with ethical issues, determine the scope and kind of research adopted. While these are constraints, prior consideration of their likely effects will minimize the loss of intellectual integrity and merit in the project.

Further Reading

• The different philosophies underlying human geography research are outlined in numerous volumes including Aitkin and Valentine (2015), Cresswell (2014) and Johnston and Siddaway (2015). Trudgill and Roy (2014) attempt a similar review of methods and meanings in physical geography. Various chapters in Clifford et al. (2009) explain the tensions between geography as a physical science, social science or arts subject and show how geographers’ understandings of key concepts have evolved as approaches to geographical thought have developed.

• Sayer (2010) is a thorough and extensive treatment of ‘methodology’ and its connections to the way in which we make sense of the world through observations, experiments, surveys and experiences. It argues that our philosophy of the way in which the world is structured (how things come to be as they are seen) must inform our choice of research design, and our choice of techniques for generalizing on the basis of the information which we collect from putting the research design into practice. The book depends on a particular (‘realist’) approach, but is an excellent starting point from which to relate philosophy to the practicalities of doing research, and to the strengths and weakness of particular kinds of research methods.

• Chalmers (2013) is a student-centred volume which covers an enormous range of material dealing with the various approaches to the philosophy of science and the status of scientific knowledge. It examines the nature of scientific explanation (the relations between observations, experiments and generalization), and gives both a historical and contemporary overview of contrasting viewpoints and approaches.

• The edited book by Hay (2010) provides a detailed guide to selecting, operationalizing and presenting the results of qualitative methodologies in geographical research. It has chapters dealing with research design, ethics, differing methodologies, and the use of Internet and computing-related resources. Moss (2001) is a collection of essays exploring feminist geography in practice. These essays share a particular concern with the ethics and politics of knowledge production, notably in terms of the positionality of the researcher and the way ‘other’ people and places are represented.

• The journal Anthropocene Review spans material from earth, environmental and social science and the humanities, while the journals Progress in Human Geography and Progress in Physical Geography provide substantive research articles, summaries of up-to-date developments in progress reports, reviews of research resources, and retrospectives on classic works in Geography.

Note: Full details of the above can be found in the references list below.

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Alderson, P. (1995) Listening to Children: Children, Ethics and Social Research. Ilford: Barnardos.Barnes, T. (2014) ‘What’s old is new, and new is old: History and geography’s quantitative revolutions’, Dialogues in

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