| Best Practice | Illustrative Examples |
| Well-defined resource system (bounded) within which relationships among phenomena can be tested | Charles 2007, Olsson et al. 2007, Evely et al. 2008 |
| Clear definition of core concept(s) being examined | Fisher et al. 2007, Kofinas et al. 2007, Schultz 2009 |
| Specificity of goal(s) or clear intention of focus (e.g., process, attribute) with regard to desired outcomes in system of concern | Garaway and Arthur 2004, Bodin and Norberg 2005, Folke et al., 2005, Guidetti and Claudet 2010 |
| Explicit criteria to assess goal(s) and/or intention of focus | Plummer and FitzGibbon 2007, Guidetti and Claudet 2010, Muñoz-Erickson et al. 2010 |
| Clear evidence of outcomes attributed to specific processes or attributes | Bodin and Norberg 2005, Fisher et al. 2007, Cundill and Fabricius 2010, Guidetti et al. 2010 |
| Rigorous and transparent methods that enable replication | Bodin and Crona 2008, Fisher et al. 2007, Cundill and Fabricius 2010, Guidetti and Claudet 2010 |