Recorded: Yes

Curated Track: 

Stuart Lane, 

Description:

Despite ongoing debates about its origins, the Anthropocene is widely acknowledged. Our environment is increasingly a product of interacting biophysical and social forces, shaped by climate change, colonial legacies, gender norms, hydrological processes, and more. Understanding these intricate interactions requires a mixed-methods approach that combines qualitative and quantitative, biophysical and social research. However, mixed-methods environmental research remains rare, hindered by academic boundaries, limited training, and the challenges of interdisciplinary collaboration. Time, funding, and the integration of diverse data further complicate this research, whilst the dynamics and ethics of interdisciplinary teams add another layer of complexity.

Despite these challenges, mixed-methods research offers a more robust and ultimately transformative understanding of environmental questions. The Field Guide to Mixing Social and Biophysical Methods aims to inspire and equip researchers to undertake such studies. Organized like a recipe book, it assists researchers in the preparation of their field work, as well as offering entry points to key methods and providing examples of successful mixed-methods projects. This Author Meets Critics panel will present commentaries on the Field Guide from scholars at a range of career stages, and from both human and physical geography.

Non-Presenting Participants