Background/Question/Methods
Ecological research is an important input in policy making processes. Research helps to identify policy problems, contributes to their framing, and often helps point the way to potential solutions. That said, however, different research agendas would lead to different understandings of policy problems and their potential solutions, which makes selection of research priorities a pivotal part of the policy process. There are myriad motivations for ecological research, including desires to address environmental problems, inform management decisions, or advance ecological theory. These varied motives may lead to drastically different research agendas amongst different groups of people, especially when they may come from regions facing dissimilar problems.

Results/Conclusions

I present preliminary results from a q-sort study performed at the July 2008 International Coral Reef Symposium. Q-sort is a method that allows investigation of subjective stances on an issue. I use it to better understand how research priorities emerge among different scientists and users of scientific knowledge. Scientists, reef managers, and representatives of NGOs from around the world were asked to rank statements of coral reef research priorities – pulled from research, management, and advocacy literatures – while being interviewed about their thought processes. Statistical analysis identifies groups that share research priorities, enabling investigation of 1) The demographic and professional characteristics that define those groups, 2) The processes by which individuals arrive at understandings of research priorities, and 3) How well the needs of knowledge users align with those of knowledge creators.