Improving interdisciplinary research: Integrating the social and natural sciences

Abstract

Abstract The relationship between social sciences and natural sciences in the natural resource area is explored. Five barriers to joint involvement of the social and natural sciences include the weakness of the social sciences, a perceived illegitimacy of the social sciences, the punishments associated with interdisciplinary research, the lack of disciplinary support structures, and conflicts over power and control. Progress toward bringing research together in these two clusters of disciplines might be enhanced by institutional and administrative support to develop specific research structures for interdisciplinary natural resource related research; the physical, social, and organizational integration necessary to improve the image of interdisciplinary research and to increase rewards for individual scientists; and efforts to improve the science by specific funding for interdisciplinary natural resource research.