Qualitative Information in Environmental Decisions: A Review of Methods, Sources, and Opportunities Across Multiple Decision Types

Qualitative information can potentially fill critical gaps in understanding historical and cultural factors and lived experience to inform environmental decisions. However, the role and use of qualitative information in environmental decision making are not well researched and to date few studies have been conducted that analyse the ways qualitative information is integrated in decision making. This literature review was conducted to identify studies on environmental decision making processes in the areas of air permitting, brownfields, superfund, aquatic restoration, and EPA chemical rulemaking, that included qualitative information search terms, in order to examine the role that qualitative information played in the decision. While a number of studies describe public comment processes, we found limited evidence for the use of other types of qualitative information, or about the ways information is collected, analysed or otherwise incorporated. Evidence linking the use of this information to the outcomes of decisions was also limited. Based on these results, we present a preliminary framework for the types of qualitative information that may be available in the context of environmental decision making, opportunities and methods for incorporating qualitative information, and other factors that affect how and whether this kind of information can influence decisions. Practical takeaways from this research can inform practitioners in environmental decision making settings as they advance and systematise methods for collecting and incorporating qualitative information into decisions. The results demonstrate the need for further research, particularly for improving the ability of environmental decisions to improve health and well-being, and developing strategies for the systematic integration of qualitative methods into environmental decision making processes.