Cause, effect, and observational studies

Abstract

A critical niche of the Journal of Wildlife Management is to publish research that will help guide wildlife conservation. Hence, nearly every paper concludes with a Management Implications section which is the "so what'" part of the paper. In other words, how does the science reported in the paper contribute to the management and conservation of the species or system studied? The "so what" aspect of the paper often comes down to documenting that a certain action or activity will have some effect on a species' population or habitat. If the paper cannot show an effect, it may not be suitable in the Journal and may be more appropriate for another outlet.

Citation

Block, Bill. 2013. Cause, effect, and observational studies. Journal of Wildlife Management. 77(1): 1.