Two THESys Researchers are part of the team of authors contributing to The Field Guide, which was published on 25 February 2025. This collaborative work provides researchers with a practical resource for conducting mixed-methods environmental research. Organized like a recipe book, this guide helps to prepare for fieldwork, introduces key methods, and showcases successful projects.
THESys Alumna Dr. Karen Lebek contributed the chapter “On the dialogue between ethnographic field work and statistical modelling” together with THESys Director Prof. Tobias Krüger, who also wrote the chapter “Environmental modelling”.
About the Book: A Mix-Methods Approach is Urgently Needed
Despite ongoing debates about its origins, the Anthropocene – a new epoch characterized by significant human impact on the Earth’s geology and ecosystems – 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. This Field Guide 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 book will be of interest to scholars wishing to tackle environmental research in a more holistic manner, spanning ‘sister’ disciplines such as anthropology, statistics, political science, public health, archaeology, geography, history, ecology, and Earth science.
The book was edited by Rebecca Lave and Stuart Lane and is part of the Book Series Critical Physical Geography: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Nature, Power and Politics.
Publication
Lave, Rebecca; Lane, Stuart (2025): The Field Guide to Mixing Social and Biophysical Methods in Environmental Research. Critical Physical Geography, vol. 1. https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0418
Photo credit: Rebecca Lave & Stuart Lane
