caa a22 4500 388054298 CHVBK 20180307125101.0 cr unu---uuuuu 161130e199806 xx s 000 0 eng 10.1017/S0889189300007724 doi S0889189300007724 pii (NATIONALLICENCE)cambridge-10.1017/S0889189300007724 Duram Leslie Aileen Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901-4514; duram@siu.edu. Taking a pragmatic behavioral approach to alternative agriculture research [Elektronische Daten] [Leslie Aileen Duram] This article seeks to stimulate thought on the philosophy behind agricultural research. Pragmatism is identified as a philosophical basis for studying environmental issues that focus on human behavior. The ways in which this approach is applicable to the study of alternative agriculture are illuminated. "Behavioral pragmatists” differ from "behavioral positivists” in their aim, focus, process, and approach to research. I describe the main goals of the pragmatic behavioral approach: accepting a systems approach to study the interrelationships between humans and the environment; gaining understanding through human experiences; viewing problems as whole complex "problematic situations”; and promoting social activism and appropriate policy formulation. Combining qualitative and quantitative methods is often most effective. Pragmatism allows for holistic analysis that incorporates numerous factors that influence human uses of the environment. A specific example shows how behavioral pragmatism is effective in research on alternative agriculture. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1998 pragmatism nationallicence behavioral research nationallicence American Journal of Alternative Agriculture Cambridge University Press 13/2(1998-06), 90-95 0889-1893 13:2<90 1998 13 AJA https://doi.org/10.1017/S0889189300007724 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0889189300007724 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 100 1- Duram Leslie Aileen Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901-4514; duram@siu.edu NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- American Journal of Alternative Agriculture Cambridge University Press 13/2(1998-06), 90-95 0889-1893 13:2<90 1998 13 AJA CC0 http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0 nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-cambridge