SignificanceEven though stakeholder involvement (SI) is increasingly relevant in scientific research processes, especially in interdisciplinary fields like sustainability science, there is limited academic literature investigating conceptual or methodological questions. Through a survey among researchers from this field, this paper presents an overview of practices and ideals of SI as well as of their divergence. Furthermore, trade-offs between scientific ideals and SI, as well as necessary improvements concerning, for example, methods or funding, are described. To add to the conceptualization of SI, the survey data were related to a typology that differentiates democratic, technocratic, neoliberal-rational, and functionalist views of SI in science. The findings can form one possible basis for development of SI toward a more standardized research approach in sustainability science.
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