Filters

2019 - 201912020 - 20211

More filters

2021 - 20222
Reset filters

Settings

Author: Sietz, Diana × Start date: 1984 × Type: Article × Type: Text × Version: publishedVersion × Subject: Social-ecological system × WGL Institute: PIK ×

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Archetype analysis in sustainability research: meanings, motivations, and evidence-based policy making
    (Wolfville, Nova Scotia : Resilience Alliance, 2019) Oberlack, Christoph; Sietz, Diana; Bürgi Bonanomi, Elisabeth; de Bremond, Ariane; Dell'Angelo, Jampel; Eisenack, Klaus; Ellis, Erle C.; Epstein, Graham; Giger, Markus; Heinimann, Andreas; Kimmich, Christian; Kok, Marcel TJ; Manuel-Navarrete, David; Messerli, Peter; Meyfroidt, Patrick; Václavík, Tomáš; Villamayor-Tomas, Sergio
    Archetypes are increasingly used as a methodological approach to understand recurrent patterns in variables and processes that shape the sustainability of social-ecological systems. The rapid growth and diversification of archetype analyses has generated variations, inconsistencies, and confusion about the meanings, potential, and limitations of archetypes. Based on a systematic review, a survey, and a workshop series, we provide a consolidated perspective on the core features and diverse meanings of archetype analysis in sustainability research, the motivations behind it, and its policy relevance. We identify three core features of archetype analysis: Recurrent patterns, multiple models, and intermediate abstraction. Two gradients help to apprehend the variety of meanings of archetype analysis that sustainability researchers have developed: (1) understanding archetypes as building blocks or as case typologies and (2) using archetypes for pattern recognition, diagnosis, or scenario development. We demonstrate how archetype analysis has been used to synthesize results from case studies, bridge the gap between global narratives and local realities, foster methodological interplay, and transfer knowledge about sustainability strategies across cases. We also critically examine the potential and limitations of archetype analysis in supporting evidence-based policy making through context-sensitive generalizations with case-level empirical validity. Finally, we identify future priorities, with a view to leveraging the full potential of archetype analysis for supporting sustainable development. © 2019 by the author(s).
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Avenues of archetype analysis: roots, achievements, and next steps in sustainability research
    (Wolfville, Nova Scotia : Resilience Alliance, 2021) Eisenack, Klaus; Oberlack, Christoph; Sietz, Diana
    Recent years have seen a proliferation of studies that use archetype analysis to better understand and to foster transitions toward sustainability. This growing literature reveals a common methodological ground, as well as a variety of perspectives and practices. In this paper, we provide an historical overview of the roots of archetype analysis from ancient philosophy to recent sustainability science. We thereby derive core features of the archetype approach, which we frame by eight propositions. We then introduce the Special Feature, “Archetype Analysis in Sustainability Research,” which offers a consolidated understanding of the approach, a portfolio of methods, and quality criteria, as well as cutting-edge applications. By reflecting on the Special Feature’s empirical and methodological contributions, we hope that the showcased advances, exemplary applications, and conceptual clarifications will help to design future research that contributes to collaborative learning on archetypical patterns leading toward sustainability. The paper concludes with an outlook highlighting central directions for the next wave of archetype analyses.