Methods of Sustainability Research in the Social Sciences

by Fahy, Frances; Rau, Henrike

• ISBN13: 9780857025210
• ISBN10: 085702521X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2013-02-28
• Publisher: Sage Pubns

Summary

Sustainability is a key word in the environmental vocabulary informing how research projects in the social sciences are framed. This book provides a systematic and critical review of the key research methods used when studying sustainable strategies and outcomes. It is divided into four areas: Part I: examines the key challenges inherent to social scientific sustainability research, examining the issues involved in combining social and natural/physical research methods. Part II: covers methodologies aimed at the investigation of attitudes and behaviour observable at the local level - from families and households to individual organizations within communities. Part III: looks at sustainability research at the regional and national level - from the link between citizens and local communities to supra-national and global organisations Part IV: covers recent developments in social scientific sustainability research which are both multi-scalar and interdisciplinary Bringing together contributions from international social scientists, the book will be suitable for academic and non-academic audiences in sustainability research and will be a core teaching text for undergraduate and postgraduates on courses in sustainability and sustainable development, geography and the environmental sciences.

Table of Contents

Measuring The Immeasurable? The Challenges and Opportunities of Sustainability Research

Introduction: Sustainability Research in the Social Sciences - Interdisciplinary Challenges and Methodological Issues

Researching Local Lives: Experiences of Sustainability Among Individuals, Households and Communities

Household Analysis: Researching 'Green' Lifestyles - a Survey Approach

Social Groups and Collective Decision-Making: FG Approaches

Researching Local Lives: Studying Conflict

Leaders and Laggards? Comparative Research on The Sustainability Performance of Regions and Nation-States

Ecological Footprint, Material and Energy Flows Analysis (MEFA) and Input-Output Analysis (IOA)

Lifecycle Analysis (LCA)

HDI and Millennium Goals

Systems, Networks, Scales and Mobilities

Mobile Methods and Sustainability

Time and Sustainability

Network and Systems Analysis

Researching Complex Sustainability Issues: Reflections on Current Developments and Future Challenges

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