Reflexive Methodological Pluralism: The Case of Environmental Valuation.

Abstract

This paper argues that methodological pluralism, as currently deployed in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research, can benefit from better integrating reflexive processes. In particular, reflexivity can facilitate meaningful and problem-specific ways of combining methods across different disciplinary fields and types of expertise. To develop our argument, we distinguish between two dimensions of reflexivity: critical (questioning of values, assumptions and socio-political context underlying research methodology) and practice-based (investigating pathways for change by mobilizing social experimentation and learning). We discuss some key ways in which recent research on environmental valuation mobilizes reflexivity. We conclude by emphasizing the role of critical and practice-based reflexivity in building a more ‘structured’ understanding of methodological pluralism.

Keywords: reflexivity, methodological pluralism, interdisciplinarity, transdisciplinarity, environmental valuation