Qualitative Disaster Research

Research that occurs in the context of disasters requires attention to challenging contexts and circumstances. In Qualitative Disaster Research, Brenda D. Phillips walks readers through the ways in which those contexts can be managed to produce careful, rigorous, and scholarly work. Each chapter provides an overview of approaches, methods, and techniques with illustrations from established disaster studies. This fully updated and revised second edition describes each step necessary for writing a research proposal, thesis, dissertation, or a research methods section. Specific examples provide insights into how to conduct both quick response and longitudinal studies with strategies for overcoming disaster-specific research challenges. Further, the book discusses entry and access concerns and potential impacts on survivors and practitioners. In particular, this new edition highlights ethical research in a trauma-informed manner. Updated content includes deep consideration of research participants, including indigenous communities, and best practices for research with and for historically marginalized people and potentially traumatized survivors. Whether new to the field or wanting a refresher course in disaster studies, students and faculty will find the book ideal for use in training the next generation of disaster researchers.

Brenda D. Phillips is Dean Emerita of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and Professor of Sociology at Indiana University South Bend. She is the lead author of Disaster Recovery; Introduction to Emergency Management; and Business Continuity Planning and sole author of Disaster Volunteers; Qualitative Disaster Research (First edition, Oxford, 2014); and Mennonite Disaster Service. She co-edited Social Vulnerability to Disasters and Women and Disasters. Her published research can be found in a variety of peer-reviewed journals. Currently, she co-edits the Palgrave Series in Disaster Science and Emergency Management to produce state of the art volumes that transform practice, inspire research, serve students, and reduce human vulnerability.