Introduction
This Guidebook for Graduate Students Working in Transdisciplinary Conservation is a product of the Society of Conservation Biology’s Social Science Working Group, Student Affairs Section. It was compiled by Joshua Drew (Chair), Kate Bigney, Adam Henne, Valerie Hickey, Shawn Margles, Nejem Raheem, Jen Shaffer, and Sandra Znajda.
We began developing this tool kit in Fall 2005 after a series of discussions between graduate students working in the natural and social sciences. We all felt that conservation was an important goal, but one that is most effectively achieved when approached from multiple disciplinary angles. We felt that it was important to put together a tool kit for other graduate students who were interested in embarking on conservation projects that draw from multiple disciplines.
We are a part of the Social Science Working Group (SSWG) of the Society for Conservation Biology. The SSWG has over 600 members from a wide variety of academic backgrounds, from anthropology to zoology. What unites us is a desire to integrate the intellectual breadth of knowledge and criticism which social science has to offer with more traditional natural science based methods of conservation.
As graduate students we cover an impressive range of backgrounds from environmental anthropology to molecular genetics. Our geographic range is currently focused on North American institutions, however our fieldwork spans three continents and two oceans. We are actively seeking members from other areas, to allow for more representative society as well as different perspectives on conservation actions.
We have decided to focus on several areas where students may need the most help. These include:
• Definitions of the terms interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary
• General advice on approaching advisors/committee members when proposing this kind of work, and other tips and helpful hints from graduate students who are going through similar experiences.
• Academic programs which are structured to facilitate multidisciplinary research
• A list of methods and techniques to carry out the work.
• Funding opportunities at a variety of scales, with examples of successful proposals.
• Advice on where and how to publish your results and how to bring your results to the right audience
This toolkit is a living document, and is meant to be a springboard for discussion and critiques. If you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to contact us at SSWGTOOLKIT@gmail.com or the chair of the Student Affairs section, Joshua Drew at jdrew@bu.edu. If you wish to be more involved please let us know, we can only be as successful as our members allow us. The more participation we have the more cross-fertilization can occur and the stronger a product we can produce.
We hope that this section can provide the seed for the next generation of innovative conservation science. If you have anything to add, please feel free to contact us. The more students participating the better off we will be. We are currently interested in developing a bibliography of transdisciplinary research, a database of researchers interested in conducting this kind of research, and a section on research methodologies.
As a complement to the Graduate Student Guidebook, the SSWG has also developed the Catalog of Conservation Social Science Tools, a useful resource for the conservation community.
Click here to download the short version of the Graduate Student Guidebook in text format (.doc or .pdf), or explore its contents on the menu at the left. |
