Role of the research standpoint in integrating global-scale and local-scale research

Climate change research is hampered by the gap between 2 styles of research, raising fundamental issues of standpoint. Interpretive-style researchers see themselves as at the center of the environment, experiencing it from within; their involvement is what allows them to gain knowledge. Descriptive-style researchers see themselves as outside the environment they analyze; their distance is what allows them to gain knowledge. This fundamental difference in standpoint indicates that attempts to meld the 2 styles of research in articulating global-local links are unrealistic and doomed to failure. Instead, we should look for complementarities and attempt to bring the differently achieved knowledge to bear on global problems.