University of Tasmania, PO Box 252-78, Hobart TAS 7001. There has been a recent tendency in Australian plant ecological research to concentrate less on descriptive and inductive work and more on hypothetico-deductive and methodological inquiry. Descriptive and inductive studies form part of the process of development of theory, and are particularly vital in applied ecological studies. The mesoscale level of investigation seems to have the greatest potential to increase our understanding of plant ecology. Methodological involution has the potential to direct scarce research resources away from important problems, as does the tendency for researchers to seek problems that suit methods, rather than methods that suit problems.
Statistics are a powerful servant, but can be a capricious master.
The absence of inferential statistical analysis does not necessarily amount to the absence of results that can increase ecological understanding. Overall, there appears to be a need to concentrate more on scientifically and practically important problems, rather than responding to sociologically determined fashion in methodology.