ABSTRACT
Management of research begins and ends with management of one’s self as the primary research resource. In that capacity one manages one’s self to gain analytical and conceptual creativity. Applied research management is management of self and of a learning environment that is directed to problem solving ends. Multidisciplinary teams of biophysical and socioeconomic scientists, along with farmers, address a wide range of environmental, household and farm conditions that influence agriculture and use of natural resources. The balance of lateral and vertical thought activity applied to problem solving or “invention” includes at least several interactive stages. Sustainability in agriculture and resource use is a concern that speaks to a need for crossing disciplines, borrowing insights, creating new research ventures and countless realignments that stress individual researchers and research institutions. The ethics of the practice, the content and the results of students’ research are challenged by new awareness of the role humans play in altering nature.
