Development and expansion in the marine social sciences: Insights from the global community

• Published in: iScience Vol. 25; no. 8; p. 104735
• Main Authors: McKinley, Emma, Kelly, Rachel, Mackay, Mary, Shellock, Rebecca, Cvitanovic, Christopher, van Putten, Ingrid
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 19-08-2022; Elsevier
• Subjects: Earth sciences; Marine processes; Research methodology social sciences; Social sciences; Earth sciences; Social sciences; Marine processes; Research methodology social sciences
• ISSN: 2589-0042; 2589-0042
• DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104735

The importance of understanding the complexities of societal relationships with our global ocean, and how these influence sustainable management and effective, equitable governance, is crucial to addressing ocean challenges. Using established horizon scanning method, this paper explores current trends in marine social sciences through a survey of the global marine social science research and practitioner community (n = 106). We find that marine social sciences research is broad, covering themes relating to governance and decision-making, stakeholder participation and engagement, the socio-cultural dimensions of marine systems, ocean literacy, community-based and area-specific management, and the blue economy, and identify future research priorities highlighted by the community. Our results, however, suggest several barriers persist, including the relationship between marine social sciences and other disciplines, and the visibility and recognition of marine social sciences both internal and external to academia. Finally, the paper generates prospective thinking and highlights recommendations for future research and practice.
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•Presents the results of a global marine social science horizon scan (n = 106)•Future priorities include blue economy, social justice, and ocean literacy•Reputation, funding, and capacity building remain key challenges•Enablers are presented to overcome barriers to marine social science research
Earth sciences; Marine processes; Social sciences; Research methodology social sciences