Ten facts from critical and interpretive social sciences for environmental research

Jasper Montana; E. A. Welden; Lea May Anderson; Aoife Bennett; Andrea Byfuglien; Sophie Bhalla; Hannah Fair; Beth Greenhough; Caitlin Hafferty; Mark Hirons; Eric Mensah Kumeh; Victoria Maguire-Rajpaul; Constance L. McDermott; Mari Mulyani; Laura Picot

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2025.112736

Ten facts from critical and interpretive social sciences for environmental research

Jasper Montana^*, E. A. Welden^*, Lea May Anderson, Aoife Bennett, Andrea Byfuglien, Sophie Bhalla, Hannah Fair, Beth Greenhough, Caitlin Hafferty, Mark Hirons, Eric Mensah Kumeh, Victoria Maguire-Rajpaul, Constance L. McDermott, Mari Mulyani, Laura Picot

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

Abstract

The social sciences are crucial contributors to environmental research. Collectively, they provide insights on the economic, cultural, political, and psychological dimensions of sustainability challenges. Yet, efforts to mainstream the social sciences in environmental research are missing the diversity of social science scholarship. Here, we contend that the critical and interpretive social sciences —which question and rethink established paradigms and power structures— have an invaluable, yet still underutilized, role. We propose that rethinking the focus, conduct, and goals of environmental research recognizing 10 facts from the critical and interpretive social sciences can help environmental research to better support desired transformative change for the benefit of both people and planet.

Original language	English
Article number	112736
Pages (from-to)	1-15
Number of pages	15
Journal	iScience
Volume	28
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.112736
Publication status	Published - 20 Jun 2025

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Montana, J., Welden, E. A., Anderson, L. M., Bennett, A., Byfuglien, A., Bhalla, S., Fair, H., Greenhough, B., Hafferty, C., Hirons, M., Kumeh, E. M., Maguire-Rajpaul, V., McDermott, C. L., Mulyani, M., & Picot, L. (2025). Ten facts from critical and interpretive social sciences for environmental research. iScience, 28(6), 1-15. Article 112736. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.112736

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title = "Ten facts from critical and interpretive social sciences for environmental research",

abstract = "The social sciences are crucial contributors to environmental research. Collectively, they provide insights on the economic, cultural, political, and psychological dimensions of sustainability challenges. Yet, efforts to mainstream the social sciences in environmental research are missing the diversity of social science scholarship. Here, we contend that the critical and interpretive social sciences —which question and rethink established paradigms and power structures— have an invaluable, yet still underutilized, role. We propose that rethinking the focus, conduct, and goals of environmental research recognizing 10 facts from the critical and interpretive social sciences can help environmental research to better support desired transformative change for the benefit of both people and planet.",

keywords = "Environmental science, Social sciences",

author = "Jasper Montana and Welden, \{E. A.\} and Anderson, \{Lea May\} and Aoife Bennett and Andrea Byfuglien and Sophie Bhalla and Hannah Fair and Beth Greenhough and Caitlin Hafferty and Mark Hirons and Kumeh, \{Eric Mensah\} and Victoria Maguire-Rajpaul and McDermott, \{Constance L.\} and Mari Mulyani and Laura Picot",

note = "{\textcopyright} 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. ",

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month = jun,

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doi = "10.1016/j.isci.2025.112736",

language = "English",

volume = "28",

pages = "1--15",

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Montana, J, Welden, EA, Anderson, LM, Bennett, A, Byfuglien, A, Bhalla, S, Fair, H, Greenhough, B, Hafferty, C, Hirons, M, Kumeh, EM, Maguire-Rajpaul, V, McDermott, CL, Mulyani, M & Picot, L 2025, 'Ten facts from critical and interpretive social sciences for environmental research', iScience, vol. 28, no. 6, 112736, pp. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.112736

TY - JOUR

T1 - Ten facts from critical and interpretive social sciences for environmental research

AU - Montana, Jasper

AU - Welden, E. A.

AU - Anderson, Lea May

AU - Bennett, Aoife

AU - Byfuglien, Andrea

AU - Bhalla, Sophie

AU - Fair, Hannah

AU - Greenhough, Beth

AU - Hafferty, Caitlin

AU - Hirons, Mark

AU - Kumeh, Eric Mensah

AU - Maguire-Rajpaul, Victoria

AU - McDermott, Constance L.

AU - Mulyani, Mari

AU - Picot, Laura

PY - 2025/6/20

Y1 - 2025/6/20

N2 - The social sciences are crucial contributors to environmental research. Collectively, they provide insights on the economic, cultural, political, and psychological dimensions of sustainability challenges. Yet, efforts to mainstream the social sciences in environmental research are missing the diversity of social science scholarship. Here, we contend that the critical and interpretive social sciences —which question and rethink established paradigms and power structures— have an invaluable, yet still underutilized, role. We propose that rethinking the focus, conduct, and goals of environmental research recognizing 10 facts from the critical and interpretive social sciences can help environmental research to better support desired transformative change for the benefit of both people and planet.

AB - The social sciences are crucial contributors to environmental research. Collectively, they provide insights on the economic, cultural, political, and psychological dimensions of sustainability challenges. Yet, efforts to mainstream the social sciences in environmental research are missing the diversity of social science scholarship. Here, we contend that the critical and interpretive social sciences —which question and rethink established paradigms and power structures— have an invaluable, yet still underutilized, role. We propose that rethinking the focus, conduct, and goals of environmental research recognizing 10 facts from the critical and interpretive social sciences can help environmental research to better support desired transformative change for the benefit of both people and planet.

KW - Environmental science

KW - Social sciences

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U2 - 10.1016/j.isci.2025.112736

DO - 10.1016/j.isci.2025.112736

M3 - Review article

AN - SCOPUS:105007454150

SN - 2589-0042

VL - 28

SP - 1

EP - 15

JO - iScience

JF - iScience

IS - 6

M1 - 112736

ER -

Ten facts from critical and interpretive social sciences for environmental research

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