Introduction: Challenges and Opportunities for Social Scientists Working on Environmental Policy Today

This edited volume discusses the use of nontraditional data sources in environmental political research and its implications for policymaking. Researchers involved in natural resource investigations and pollution control analysis must be entrepreneurial in finding and utilizing data sets to answer pressing policy questions. To remain relevant, successful researchers must increasingly seek data beyond routine federal program assessments, fragmented local surveys, and limited stakeholder interactions. This volume surveys current environmental research that draws on emerging data sources such as social media and political discourse. It poses critical questions about the potential of creative and innovative analytical approaches, particularly in contexts where policymakers have disregarded objective, evidence-based social science on environmental challenges. By encouraging scholars to adopt new methods, research designs, and data sources, this book offers valuable insights for researchers across the social and environmental sciences.