The use of focus groups in cultural ecosystem services research: a systematic review

0569751 - ÚVGZ 2024 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Slovák, Ľuboš - Daněk, Jan - Danek, Tomáš
The use of focus groups in cultural ecosystem services research: a systematic review.
HUMANITIES & SOCIAL SCIENCES COMMUNICATIONS. Roč. 10, č. 1 (2023), č. článku 45. E-ISSN 2662-9992
R&D Projects: GA TA ČR(CZ) TL02000520
Institutional support: RVO:86652079
Keywords : intangible benefits * literature review * methodology * nature's contributions to people * non-material values * qualitative research * research design
OECD category: Environmental sciences (social aspects to be 5.7)
Impact factor: 3.5, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Open access
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-023-01530-3

Focus groups are an increasingly popular method for eliciting non-material values and cultural ecosystem services (CES) in the context of studying human-nature relationships. We conducted a systematic review of the literature with the aim of exploring where and how focus groups were used in the research into CES. Furthermore, we aimed to highlight good practices and potential caveats of the use of the focus groups method with respect to recommendations in methodological literature. We employed an inclusive CES classification framework and observed that focus groups were mostly used to research Recreation, Aesthetics, and Education categories. The review also discovered insufficient reporting and methodological inconsistencies in some of the studies. We provide suggestions for more robust and trustworthy applications of the focus group method, which can advance both research in this field and the implementation of the ecosystem services concept in the future.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0342084