Social science methods

This section provides guidance, frameworks, and key studies on using social science approaches in conservation. Resources cover qualitative and quantitative methods, participatory techniques, and tools for collecting and analysing human dimensions data to inform human-wildlife conflicts management decisions and policy.

Guidance Documents

The conservation social sciences: What? How? And why? (2015). (Bennett, N.J. & Roth.R.) Download

Human-wildlife conflict management (2002). (Decker, D. J., T. B. Lauber, and W. F. Siemer) Download

Chua, L., V. Schreer, and P. H. Thung. 2022. Using ethnographic research for social engagement: a toolkit for orangutan (and other) conservationists.  Download

Key Papers

Bennett, N. J., R. Roth, S. C. Klain, K. M. A. Chan, D. A. Clark, G. Cullman, G. Epstein, M. P. Nelson, R. Stedman, T. L. Teel, R. E. W. Thomas, C. Wyborn, D. Curran, A. Greenberg, J. Sandlos, and D. Veríssimo. 2017. Mainstreaming the social sciences in conservation. Conservation Biology 31:56-66. Download

Chua, L., M. E. Harrison, H. Fair, S. Milne, A. Palmer, J. Rubis, P. Thung, S. Wich, B. Büscher, S. M. Cheyne, R. K. Puri, V. Schreer, A. Stępień, and E. Meijaard. 2020. Conservation and the social sciences: beyond critique and co-optation. A case study from orangutan conservation. People and Nature 2:42-60. Download

Drury, R., K. Homewood, and S. Randall. 2011. Less is more: the potential of qualitative approaches in conservation research. Animal Conservation 14:18-24. Download

Ferraz, et al. 2022. Best of both worlds: Combining ecological and social research to inform conservation decisions in a Neotropical biodiversity hotspot. Journal for Nature Conservation, 66. External resources

Ibbett, H., J. P. G. Jones, L. Dorward, E. M. Kohi, A. A. Dwiyahreni, K. Prayitno, S. Sankeni, J. Kaduma, J. Mchomvu, A. Wijaya Saputra, H. Sabiladiyni, J. Supriatna, and F. A. V. St John. 2023. A mixed methods approach for measuring topic sensitivity in conservation. People and Nature.   Download

Ibbett, H., J. P. G. Jones, and F. A. V. St John. 2021. Asking sensitive questions in conservation using Randomised Response Techniques. Biological Conservation 260:109191. Download

Jacobs, M. H., P. Fehres, and M. Campbell. 2012. Measuring emotions toward wildlife: a review of generic methods and instruments. Human Dimensions of Wildlife 17:233-247. External resource

Keith, R. J., L. M. Given, J. M. Martin, and D. F. Hochuli. 2022. Collaborating with qualitative researchers to co-design social-ecological studies. Austral Ecology. Download

Khanyari, M., R. Dorjay, S. Lobzang, A. Bijoor, and K. Suryawanshi. 2023. Co-designing conservation interventions through participatory action research in the Indian Trans-Himalaya. Ecological Solutions and Evidence 4:e12232.   Download

Lestel, D., F. Brunois, and F. Gaunet. 2006. Etho-ethnology and ethno-ethology. Social Science Information 45:155-177. External resource

Manfredo, M. J., R. E. Berl, T. L. Teel, and J. T. Bruskotter. 2021. Bringing social values to wildlife conservation decisions. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.  Download

Manfredo, M., J. Vaske, and T. Teel. 2003. The potential for conflict index: a graphic approach to practical significance of human dimensions research. Human Dimensions of Wildlife 8:219-228. External resource

Mohammadi, A., K. Almasieh, H. Y. Wan, D. Nayeri, A. Alambeigi, J. I. Ransom, and S. A. Cushman. 2021. Integrating spatial analysis and questionnaire survey to better understand human-onager conflict in Southern Iran. Scientific Reports 11:12423.  Download

Nuno, A., and F. A. V. St. John. 2015. How to ask sensitive questions in conservation: a review of specialized questioning techniques. Biological Conservation 189:5-15. External resource

O.Nyumba, T., K. Wilson, C. J. Derrick, and N. Mukherjee. 2018. The use of focus group discussion methodology: insights from two decades of application in conservation. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9:20-32. Download

Rust, N. A., A. Abrams, D. W. S. Challender, G. Chapron, A. Ghoddousi, J. A. Glikman, C. H. Gowan, C. Hughes, A. Rastogi, A. Said, A. Sutton, N. Taylor, S. Thomas, H. Unnikrishnan, A. D. Webber, G. Wordingham, and C. M. Hill. 2017. Quantity does not always mean quality: the importance of qualitative social science in conservation research. Society & Natural Resources 30:1304-1310. External resource

Riley, E. P. 2018. The maturation of ethnoprimatology: theoretical and methodological pluralism. International Journal of Primatology. External resource

Riley, E. P. 2010. The importance of human-macaque folklore for conservation in Lore Lindu National Park, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Oryx 44:235-240. External resource

Parathian, H. E., M. R. McLennan, C. M. Hill, A. Frazão-Moreira, and K. J. Hockings. 2018. Breaking through disciplinary barriers: human–wildlife interactions and multispecies ethnography. International Journal of Primatology. Download

Salazar, G., I. Ramakrishna, N. Satheesh, M. Mills, M. C. Monroe, and K. K. Karanth. 2021. The challenge of measuring children’s attitudes toward wildlife in rural India. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education:1-17. External resource

Setchell, J. M., E. Fairet, K. Shutt, S. Waters, and S. Bell. 2017. Biosocial conservation: integrating biological and ethnographic methods to study human–primate interactions. International Journal of Primatology 38:401-426. Download

St. John, F. A. V., D. Brockington, N. Bunnefeld, R. Duffy, K. Homewood, J. P. G. Jones, A. M. Keane, E. J. Milner-Gulland, A. Nuno, and J. H. Razafimanahaka. 2016. Research ethics: assuring anonymity at the individual level may not be sufficient to protect research participants from harm. Biological Conservation 196:208-209. External resource

St. John, F. A. V., A. M. Keane, J. P. G. Jones, and E. J. Milner-Gulland. 2014. Robust study design is as important on the social as it is on the ecological side of applied ecological research. Journal of Applied Ecology 51:1479-1485. Download

Sutherland, W. J., L. V. Dicks, M. Everard, and D. Geneletti. 2018. Qualitative methods for ecologists and conservation scientists. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9:7-9. External resource

Teel, T. L., M. Adams, A. W. Don Carlos, M. A. Bonnell, and S. W. Breck. 2022. A mixed-methods social psychology application evaluating the role of citizen science in mitigating human-wildlife conflict. Society & Animals:1-24.  Download

White, P. C. L., N. V. Jennings, A. R. Renwick, and N. H. L. Barker. 2005. Questionnaires in ecology: a review of past use and recommendations for best practice. Journal of Applied Ecology 42:421-430. Download

Young, J. C., D. C. Rose, H. S. Mumby, F. Benitez-Capistros, C. J. Derrick, T. Finch, C. Garcia, C. Home, E. Marwaha, C. Morgans, S. Parkinson, J. Shah, K. A. Wilson, and N. Mukherjee. 2018. A methodological guide to using and reporting on interviews in conservation science research. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9:10-19. Download

Books and book chapters

Bryman, A. 2015. Social research methods. Oxford University Press. External resource

Hodgson, I. D., J. Cusack, I. Jones, J. Minderman, L. Nilsson, R. A. Pozo, O. S. Rakotonarivo, and N. Bunnefeld. 2021. Building peace to save nature: multi-disciplinary approaches to managing conflicts in conservation. Pages 3-22 in S. C. Underkoffler and H. R. Adams, editors. Wildlife biodiversity conservation: multidisciplinary and forensic approaches. Springer International Publishing, Cham.  External resource

McBride, M. F., and M. A. Burgman. 2012. What is expert knowledge, how is such knowledge gathered, and how do we use it to address questions in landscape ecology? Pages 11-38 in A. H. Perera, C. A. Drew, and C. J. Johnson, editors. Expert knowledge and its application in landscape ecology. Springer New York, New York, NY. External resource

Newing, H. 2010. Conducting research in conservation: social science methods and practice. Taylor & Francis. External resource

Punch, K. F. 2013. Introduction to social research: quantitative and qualitative approaches. SAGE Publications. External resource

Silverman, D. 1993. Interpreting qualitative data: methods for analysing talk, text and interaction. Sage. External resource

Silverman, D. 2005. Doing qualitative research: a practical handbook. SAGE Publications. External resource

Straka, T. M., J. Coleman, E. A. Macdonald, and T. Kingston. 2021. Human dimensions of bat conservation – 10 recommendations to improve and diversify studies of human-bat interactions. Biological Conservation 262:109304.  External resource

Vaske, J. J. 2008. Survey research and analysis: applications in parks, recreation and human dimensions. Venture Publishing. External resource