These questions emphasize that a field of research
is constituted by both cognitive and social factors and
that many aspects concur in shaping the characteristics
of a field. A scientific field is not only the
framework for the peaceful achievement of insight
and new knowledge, but also a framework for social
processes that can be highly competitive and call for
strategic behaviour in struggles for power and
influence. Large varieties in the character of different
fields are possible. Particularly important to stress is
that the social construction of a field of research does
not necessarily imply that it is possible to describe
precisely the subject of the field. This can apply even
to smaller specialties: as Wenneberg (1999, p. 212)
notes in his study of the Danish research in systems
development (a specialty related to computer science),
it is definitely possible to discuss the field with
researchers and others in a meaningful way, although
the scientific core cannot be defined unambiguously—
in this case the field is highly influenced
by the declared intent to be transdisciplinary (p. 214).
Obviously, the answers to the different questions
above are highly correlated, but it takes a whole book
to outline the complex relationships and the inherent
I. Rbpke / Ecological Economics 55 (2005) 262–290 265
dynamics that arise from changes in different features.
For the purpose of this paper the questions are only
listed, and some of the causal relationships are dealt
with in relation to the analysis of the specific field of
ecological economics. In the concluding section, I will
summarize the characteristics of ecological economics
by answering the questions briefly.