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Handbook of Disaster Research pp 289–309Cite as

Methodological Issues in Disaster Research

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Part of the book series: Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research ((HSSR))

Abstract

With regard to the design of research protocols, the field of disaster studies encounters challenges other fields of inquiry do not routinely face. Following a brief historical outline of the field, the chapter moves on to discuss these challenges, which often appear in the context of quick-response research and affect a range of planning and design issues, including, but not limited to, human subjects planning, sample design, measurement, and analysis. In addition to methodological issues in the field, the chapter also discusses advances in statistical analysis and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) that offer means to address common sampling and measurement issues in disaster research. Finally, a section on interdisciplinary research offers a description of multidisciplinary approaches to answering scientific questions, noting both the advantages and potential problems of collaboration across the disciplines. The chapter closes with a description of future trends and issues that may become relevant within the coming decades.

This manuscript owes a great debt to and draws significant inspiration from Robert Stalling’s chapter in the first edition of this volume, as well as his wide collection of writings outlining, critiquing, and synthesizing the various methodologies that have come to define the empirical foundations of the field.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, USA

    William Donner & Walter Diaz

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  1. William Donner
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  2. Walter Diaz
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Correspondence to William Donner .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University at Albany, SUNY, Albany, New York, USA

    Havidán Rodríguez

  2. University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, Texas, USA

    William Donner

  3. Core Faculty, Disaster Research Center, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA

    Joseph E. Trainor

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Donner, W., Diaz, W. (2018). Methodological Issues in Disaster Research. In: Rodríguez, H., Donner, W., Trainor, J. (eds) Handbook of Disaster Research. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63254-4_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63254-4_15

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