Opportunities and Challenges for Studying Disaster Survivors
Studying survivors of natural disasters and traumatic events provides a unique opportunity to address some of the important and difficult questions in psychology and other social sciences. However, such an opportunity does not come without challenges. Several methodological challenges to studying su...
Saved in:
Published in | Analyses of social issues and public policy Vol. 6; no. 1; pp. 175 - 189 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Malden, USA
Blackwell Publishing Inc
01.12.2006
Blackwell Publishing Ltd |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | Studying survivors of natural disasters and traumatic events provides a unique opportunity to address some of the important and difficult questions in psychology and other social sciences. However, such an opportunity does not come without challenges. Several methodological challenges to studying survivors of natural disasters are discussed, including recruiting participants, choosing appropriate procedures, and the safety of data collectors. Several ethical issues are also presented, such as the ability of participants to make decisions, the impact of participating, and the importance of informed consent. In addition, approaches are suggested that help to deal with these methodological and ethical challenges. We conclude that while attention must be focused on methodological and ethical considerations, research stemming from natural disasters should be employed to answer important basic and applied conceptual questions and address issues of practice and policy, while assuring that steps have been taken to protect participants and that the potential risks are minimal. |
---|---|
Bibliography: | ArticleID:ASAP116 ark:/67375/WNG-KWGT55JC-4 istex:5AD2D197D2350BB3247CF3112DB55AA07D0925D5 This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0519209 awarded to coauthor Kiplinger D. Williams. |
ISSN: | 1529-7489 1530-2415 |
DOI: | 10.1111/j.1530-2415.2006.00116.x |