Table 2 Sample of research projects investigated consisting of single PhD studies except for MOUNT (cluster project #CB-839 mw randurls[1|1|,|CHEM1|]# including ten PhD studies in nine different research groups), BFUEL (consisting of two PhD studies) and AQUA (consisting of four PhD studies and a synthesis study) Project acronym (number of interviews) Project (short title)
Discipline/field Country CARB (2) Carbon sequestration potential Ecosystem Sciences Panama MOUNT (2) Land use in mountain regions (MOUNTLAND) Various natural and Social Science fields Switzerland FOR (2) Drought impacts on forest development (Forest) Ecology Switzerland POLL (2) Ecosystem service pollination Ecology India LIV (1) Forest and livelihoods Forestry and Development Madagascar PALM (1) Oil palm expansion (Applied) Ecology Indonesia WAT (2) Water-related environmental services Physical Geography Kenya/Tanzania LEG (1) Crop-livestock systems Plant Nutrition Nicaragua BFUEL (3) Biofuel crop production: debates and impacts Sociology and Human Geography Ethiopia AQUA
(3) Water stress and management options Human and Physical Geography Switzerland Data collection Semi-structured interviews, research proposals GDC 973 and notes from informal meetings were used as sources of data. Over a period of 1.5 years and following the principles of theoretical sampling (Corbin and Strauss 2008; Glaser and Strauss 1967), 12 full and 4 complementing interviews were conducted, taking 40–110, and 30–50 min, respectively. Up to three researchers per project were very interviewed based
on their involvement in setting up and concretizing the project. Among the full interviews, seven were conducted with PhD students, and six with post-docs or senior scientists. The complementing short interviews were made with the supervising professors to capture their perspectives as well. Depending on the mother tongue of the interviewees, the interviews were held in Swiss German, German or English. All interviews were fully recorded and transcribed. Investigating sustainability understandings was one aspect of a broader study on how researchers conceive research for sustainable development. With respect to sustainability visions, the interviewees were asked to describe (1) the sustainability problem situation their projects referred to; (2) how they personally judged that situation with respect to sustainability; (3) what their personal, general understanding of sustainable development was; and (4) what conception of sustainable development or sustainable land use underlay the project from their point of view.