Methodology
The Problem Shifts Database has employed a rigorous methodological framework, a summary of which is presented below. For more details about the methodology and the terminology used in the database, please refer to the codebook.
Survey
Design
Distribution
Collection
Case Categorization
Overall Target
Specific Measure
Definition for Problem Categories
Verification of Cases
Exclusion of Cases
(no problem shift or limited information, etc)
Adjustment of Initial Problem and New Problem
Merging of Cases
(based on measure)
Breakdown of Overarching Cases
Making Geographic Examples
Survey
The Problem Shifts Database uses expert survey as its main tool of knowledge gathering. The survey includes questions on the description of the problem shift, as well as its causes, effects, and potential solutions. This expert survey has so far yielded 279 responses with each response containing a minimum of one and a maximum of six problem shifts.
Case Categorization
The survey responses have been categorized into distinct cases along five dimensions: issue area, temporal dimension, causes, effects, and solutions.
Each problem shift case has one or more initial problems and one or mor new problems. The initial problem is the original problem that has been targeted by policy, and it corresponds to an environmental issue area (e.g., climate, biodiversity, ocean, freshwater, agriculture, and hazardous waste). Each case has a problem-shifting measure, which corresponds to the policy action implemented to address an initial problem, which leads to the occurrence of a new problem. The new problem is the outcome of the measure taken to address the initial problem, and it includes issue areas that are not limited to the environment, but also to other issue areas such as economy, labour, fundamental rights, human health, and social justice.
In our conceptualization, problem shifts are dynamic processes, and they can either be an ongoing case or a case that has occurred in the past. Problem shifts are not assumed to be unintended or unanticipated. The effects of each problem shift have been classified as being singular, multiple, or cascading. Problem shifts have also been evaluated in terms of their effect on the initial problem. In each case, the database documents whether there have been governance efforts to address the problem shift.
Issue Area
Temporal Dimension
Causes
Effects
Solutions
(of solving the problem)
yes/no
Verification of Cases
The processed cases are turned into database entries through a rigorous verification process by the project team. For every case, an in-depth literature review is performed to add new or correct provided information. In cases where supporting evidence is lacking from the literature, the responses are discarded.
Merging of Cases
(based on measure)
Cases with similar problem-shifting measures have been merged to avoid duplicates. When merging, other information derived from the survey responses has also been incorporated based on this process. While the mean and standard deviation have been used for numerical data, for qualitative data, the responses have been weighted. Where possible, the cases have been enriched with location-specific examples.