Adaptation in Resource-Dependent Communities: A Call for Greater Methodological Clarity in Adaptation Field Research

Abstract

This article highlights how fieldwork scholars of adaptation in resource-dependent communities may enhance our capacity to craft comparative lessons and contribute an empirical foundation to theories and policy initiatives for adaptation. We briefly synthesize how scholars conducting field research on adaptation in common pool resource communities have measured and assessed adaptation, discuss some of the points of contention in the adaptation literature and in the field, and indicate ways in which adaptation could be further clarified in the field. Specifically, we identify a need for greater clarity in how field researchers define adaptation, examine the relationship between disturbance and adaptive response, and evaluate the outcomes of adaptation processes. Our review of the literature reiterates the challenges in comparing case studies and suggests means by which greater conceptual and methodological clarity may provide a much-needed empirical foundation to our understanding of adaptation processes.