Part I Introduction.- 1. Researching People and the Sea – Setting the Scene; Carole S. White, Madeleine Gustavsson, Jeremy Phillipson, Kristen Ounanian.- Part II Experiences from the field: adapting methods, practices and reflexivity.- 2. Naked Methodology: Baring it all for a realistic account of marine social science; Kristen Ounanian.- 3. Attending to the rhythms of the sea, place and gendered cultures in interviewing fishers and fishing families; Madeleine Gustavsson.- 4. Towards an ethic of care within fisheries social research; Natalie Ross.- 5. Safety, ethics and trust: reflecting on methodological challenges in fisheries research; Hannah Chiswell, Julie Urquhart, Nick Lewis, Jasmine Black, Paul Courtney and Matt Reed.- Part III Windows into particular methods: innovations and traditions.- 6. Addressing low rates of attendance within fisher focus groups: reflections from inshore fisheries research in England; Rebecca Korda, Tim Gray, Dot Kirk-Adams and Selina Stead.- 7. Exploring the relationship between local ecological knowledge and technology through participant observation onboard fishing vessels; Jeremy Anbleyth-Evans.- 8. Ecosystems, communities and canoes: Using Photovoice to understand relationships among coastal environments and social wellbeing; Ana Carolina Esteves Dias and Derek Armitage.- 9. Using photographs in coastal research and engagement: reflections on two case studies; Merryn Thomas, Erin Roberts, Nick Pidgeon, Karen Henwood.- 10. Applications of archival sources and historical methodologies in interdisciplinary coastal and marine research; Alanna Casey.- Part IV Translating across disciplines and policy.- 11. Integrating social and ecological research on the impacts of offshore wind farms in North America; Talya ten Brink, Tracey Dalton, Julia Livermore.- 12. Imagining the coast: A mixed methods approach to elicit perceptions and conflicts on the west coast of Ireland; Maria Pafi, Wesley Flannery and Brendan Murtagh.- 13. Blending environmental humanities and policy studies: a narrative analysis approach to hybrid scholarship on the coast; Anna S Antonova.- 14. Reflections on methodological tensions in doing qualitative research at the science-policy-community interface; Ruth Brennan.- Part V Conclusion.- 15. Discerning expertise in researching people and the sea; Kristen Ounanian, Jeremy Phillipson, Madeleine Gustavsson, Carole S. White.

In this unique edited collection, social scientists reflect upon and openly share insights gathered from researching people and the sea. Understanding how people use, relate to and interact with coastal and marine environments has never been more important, with social scientists having an increasingly vital contribution to make. Yet practical experiences in deploying social science approaches in this field are typically hidden away in field notes and unpublished doctoral manuscripts, with the opportunity for shared learning that comes from doing research often missed. There is a need for reflection on how social science knowledge is produced. This collection presents experiences from the field, its necessary reflexivity and innovation in methods, and the challenges and opportunities of translating across disciplines and policy. It brings to light the tacit expertise needed to study people and the sea and offers lessons which readers could employ in their own research. With afocus on the future direction of marine social sciences, the volume is highly relevant to masters and doctoral students and more experienced researchers engaged in studying people and the sea, as well as policy makers, practitioners and scientists wishing to understand the social dimension of marine and coastal environments. Chapters 2 and 3 are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.Madeleine Gustavsson is a researcher at Ruralis – Institute for Rural and Regional Research in Trondheim, Norway. Carole White is a research fellow in the Global Environmental Justice Group at the University of East Anglia, UK and and social researcher in the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. Jeremy Phillipson is Professor of Rural Development at the Centre for Rural Economyat Newcastle University, UK.  Kristen Ounanian is an associate professor at Centre for Blue Governance at Aalborg University, Denmark. 

"I have been waiting long for such a book. Universities train students in how to carry out social research under ideal circumstances, with the syllabus full of textbook-recipes from which to choose from. Yet, students are often ill-prepared for what they find when trying to implement the research techniques they have learned to the real world. It is therefore important to know what previous researchers have experienced when in the field, and what they had to do to generate their data. In this important book, authors share the lessons they have learned the hard way in order to succeed. In particular, it better equips us for what to expect when entering the world of people who draw their livelihoods from the sea. This reflection helps us, as researchers, to deal with the emotional stress that ensues when things do not work out exactly as planned, which they seldom do."(Svein Jentoft, Professor emeritus, Norwegian College of Fishery Science, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway)"The book answers the long-standing question about the role of social sciences in marine resources and ocean governance. With transformation and innovation being asked of all scientists today to address the increasing complexity of challenges facing the society, the book provides the best evidence of how well-equipped social science, and interdisciplinary, researchers are in tackling them. Unlike other books on social science research methods, this volume offers rare insights about what works, and as importantly, what doesn’t, with thoughtful reflections from trained and experienced researchers, many of them female, early career scholars. For those who like to dismiss social sciences as ‘soft’, the book will change your mind. For those thinking that social science research is easy, you will think twice. For those looking for new ways of approaching societal problems and doing research, the book will delight and surprise you, and will encourage you to enjoy thenew journey."(Ratana Chuenpagdee, Professor, Too Big To Ignore (TBTI) Global Partnership for Small-Scale Fisheries Research and Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada)"A 'must read' item in the reading list for research training programmes for social scientists of all hues – important, not only as a crucial part of basic training, but also as a timely intervention in the current debates over the expansion of social sciences into new areas."(David Symes, Reader Emeritus, University of Hull, UK)"Marine social sciences occupy the interstitial spaces between the established social sciences – (such as sociology, anthropology and human geography) the marine natural sciences (including oceanography and marine biology) and the professional sciences (for example: law, policy and management). The thirteen essays in this book span the straits separating discipline-based text-book methods and the realities of conducting and interpreting interdisciplinary methodology. This is research as social practice, enriched by candid reflection on errors, insights and course-corrections. The authors and editors provide a valuable aid to those navigating this knowledge-archipelago, whether as graduate students, professors or marine spatial planners. It will be especially useful to orientate the many researchers who enter the field from the marine natural sciences. To those working in interdisciplinary teams or commissioning marine social research, it will help build understanding and respect for those who are mapping the myriad relationships between sea and society."(Edward H. Allison, Professor, Research Chair for Equity and Justice in the Blue Economy, WorldFish, Malaysia and Research Director, Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center, Earthlab, University of Washington, USA)

Explores social science methods in marine and fisheries research Provides an interactive social science perspective with links to the natural sciences and growing field of the environmental humanities Discusses experiences gained in the field and how readers can apply these in their own research Includes two free-to-read open access chapters, accessible here: https://bit.ly/2ODR6LD