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Thematic Guide to Integrated Assessment Modeling
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Lack of metrics or standards
It is sometimes argued that interdisciplinary research does not need to measure up to the same standards of quality as in individual disciplines. However, a consequence of this is that interdisciplinary research often does not measure up to the standards of any discipline and it thus falls through disciplinary cracks. This is perhaps nowhere as true as in the case of integrated assessment. A good case in point is the potential for over and inappropriate use of disciplinary tools in integrated assessment, without regard for their limitations or applicability as discussed in section 4. Ideological and disciplinary backgrounds can often drive the selection of tools, rather than considerations of applicability.
As Rotmans (personal communication) points out, there is no underlying theory of IA. In the absence of theory and lacking clear standards, the community will have to develop a connoisseurship of IA studies over time. We need to be able to discern good IA studies when we see them, and try to identify the features that make them good.