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Section 4: Study design
Chapter 4.12 Qualitative research
Research Methods for Health EDRM
Section navigation
- Section 4: Study design
- Chapter 4.12 Qualitative research
- Chapter 4.1 Basic principles in designing studies to assess the effects of interventions
- Chapter 4.2 Measuring the problem: Basic statistics
- Chapter 4.3 Cluster randomized trials
- Chapter 4.4 Collection and management of good quality data
- Chapter 4.5 Advanced statistical techniques
- Chapter 4.6 Health-related risk modelling
- Chapter 4.7 Evaluating economic impacts in health emergency and disaster risk management
- Chapter 4.8 Geographic information systems
- Chapter 4.9 Real-time syndromic surveillance
- Chapter 4.10 Using logic models in research and evaluation of Health EDRM interventions
- Chapter 4.11 Researching communication and communicating research in Health EDRM
- Chapter 4.13 Addressing complexity through mixed methods
- Chapter 4.14 Natural experiments in a hazard context
- Chapter 4.15 Monitoring and evaluation
Authors: Pickering CJ, Phibbs S, Kenney C, O’Sullivan T.
Chapter 4.12 describes key factors to consider when developing a qualitative study for health emergency and disaster risk management (Health EDRM) research, including:
- The epistemological foundations of qualitative research commonly used in disaster research.
- Common qualitative research methodologies used extensively in disaster research.
- Different methods used in qualitative data collection.
- The power of participatory, performatory and arts-based research methods in disaster risk reduction (DRR).
- Common issues and challenges for qualitative research in a disaster context.
What is this chapter about?
Qualitative research provides key information for evidence-informed practice in Health EDRM and the development of disaster risk reduction policy. The unpredictability of disaster contexts, combined with the need to capture time-sensitive information, means that guidance on how to conduct qualitative research is needed to help Health EDRM researchers understand the lived experiences of people affected by a particular topic or event.
This chapter presents an overview of qualitative research methodologies that are relevant to Health EDRM and are commonly used in the study of disasters. It outlines different types of qualitative methods and some of the issues and challenges associated with each type that need to be considered when designing and implementing studies. It also explains how qualitative designs can be used to round out the evidence base and fill knowledge gaps. The chapter highlights the importance of participatory design and collaborative partnerships, and the need to distinguish between community-based and community-development approaches.
Case studies presented in the chapter:
- Qualitative participatory action-based research to engage youth in disaster risk reduction research: The EnRiCH Youth Research Team Photovoice Project, Canada.
What are the key messages of this chapter?
- Qualitative research design and methods has an important role in Health EDRM.
- Rigour is needed to ensure qualitative research contributions are of high quality and credible.
- Community-based research is based on partnerships and shared ownership of projects, where the voice of citizens in a community are valued and represented in the research findings.
- Qualitative research design has the potential to fill many research gaps in DRR, building on the fact that everybody experiences disasters differently and that disasters affect everybody in different ways.
- The emergent design of qualitative research offers the flexibility to address these complex and differing experiences.