Distinguishing between research and monitoring programs in environmental science and management

The terms “research” and “monitoring” are commonly used interchangeably to describe the data-gathering, information-generating, and knowledge-translating activities in environmental science and management. While research and monitoring share many attributes, such as the tools used, they may also differ in important ways, including the audience and their stability. In any environmental program, any potential differences between research and monitoring may be inconsequential, but distinguishing between these two activities, especially when both words are used casually, may be necessary to ensure the alignment between the tools and approaches and the expectations and goals of the program. Additionally, the importance of distinguishing between research and monitoring becomes greater when many participants from varying backgrounds with differing expectations are involved in the design, execution, and governance of the program. In this essay, we highlight differences between environmental research and monitoring, provide potential criteria to define them, and discuss how their activities interact and overlap. In our view, environmental monitoring programs are typically standardized and designed to address stakeholder concerns, to ensure activities comply with regulatory statutes or other known objectives. In contrast, environmental research may be esoteric, driven by a specific line of inquiry, and may lack a defined endpoint. Although potential difficulties with categorizing some programs or portions of combined programs will likely always remain, explicitly identifying the attributes of a program is necessary to achieve its objectives.