This poster provides an overview of the potential for qualitative research methods to inform rangeland social-ecological systems research. Human activities are a key driver in ecological change. Designing policies and practices that support resilience in social-ecological systems requires an understanding of how natural resource managers perceive the systems they work in, how they make decisions, and how they share information with one another. Qualitative research methods, developed in the social sciences, provide an opportunity to conduct in-depth inquiry into managers' decision-making processes. This poster introduces the qualitative research process, describes steps to ensure the reliability and validity of data collection, and highlights its application to two studies in the field of rangeland ecology.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.