Includes bibliographical references and index.

This case study describes the experiences and challenges of conducting qualitative research in a new community and environment as part of a multidisciplinary statewide research project. The study was part of a 5-year state and federally funded project investigating community adaptive capacity to changing environments, particularly human ability to respond effectively to climate change. As part of the study, I investigated social and environmental threats to the local and regional food supply, human understanding of these vulnerabilities, and recommendations for mitigating these risks. I describe my experiences and challenges with two specific aspects of this project: collaboration with a multidisciplinary research team and recruitment through snowball sampling. I used participant-observation and semi-structured in-depth interviews to better understand the perceptions of fishermen, gardeners, farmers, and food security advocates of the threats to the regional food supply. I discuss finding a balance between the objectives of the research grant and my own methodological interests and strengths. This case study sheds light on the challenges of working on a project when one of the researchers is weakly integrated into a multidisciplinary research team. Readers should also gain practical lessons for snowball sampling and recruitment.

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