ABSTRACT
Transdisciplinary research frequently focuses on case studies characterised by a ‘constitutive tension’ between the search for societal solutions in collaboration with non-scientific actors on the one hand, and scientific standards of objectivity on the other. Resolving the tension in favour of practical problem solving appears to be at the cost of scientific rigour; resolving it in favour of objective science appears to be at the cost of practical relevance (“brilliant but irrelevant!”). This chapter discusses this tension with a focus on the role of case studies in sustainability science. We first examine the general case for the case study, i.e. the variety of ways in which case studies can contribute to education and research. Second, we highlight the specific contribution of case studies to sustainability science, with reference to four of its distinctive characteristics: normativity, interdisciplinarity, urgency and collaboration with non-scientists. Third, we outline an approach to case studies adapted to the needs of sustainability science. Finally, we revisit ‘constitutive tension’, reframed as tension between the case as a singularity in a specific context, and as the exemplar of general or even universal truth claims, and consider ways to make use of this tension that are fruitful for sustainability science.
