Distinguishing characteristics and issues of comparative and cross-cultural research, problems and opportunities, and an assessment of future prospects are offered and related to disaster research. No single approach is advocated; rather, various approaches—case study to cross-national, contemporary to historical, and qualitative to quantitative—are recommended. Methodological issues including model specification, problems of aggregation, intra- versus international variation, and secondary versus primary data collection are addressed. Particular attention is devoted to issues of equivalence related to conceptualization, data comparability, operationalization and measurement, conversion, standardization, and units of observation. The need for systematic efforts to develop research tools that can be utilized to measure critical concepts such as recovery, restoration, risk, and mitigation is identified. Finally, discipline-based, yet disaster-relevant, cross-national and comparative research addenda consistent with a broader ecological perspective targeting disasters, development, and the social production of vulnerability are advocated.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ArmerMichael. 1973. “Methodological Problems and Possibilities in Comparative Research.” Pp. 49–82 in Comparative Social Research: Methodological Problems and Strategies, edited by ArmerMichael, and GrimshawAllen D.. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
2.
ArmerMichael, and GrimshawAllen D. (eds.). 1973. Comparative Social Research: Methodological Problems and Strategies.New York: John Wiley & Sons.
3.
AndorkaRudolf. 1990. “The Use of Time Series in International Comparison.” Pp. 203–223 in Comparative Methodology: Theory and Practice in International Social Research, edited by ØyenElseLondon: Sage.
4.
BalassaBela. 1964. “The Purchasing Power Parity Doctrine: A Reappraisal.” Journal of Political Economy72: 584–596.
5.
BatesFrederick L., and PeacockWalter Gillis. 1987. “Disasters and Social Change.” Pp. 291–331 in Sociology of Disasters, edited by DynesRussell R., MarchiBruna De, and PelandaCarloMilano, Italy: Franco Angeli.
6.
BatesFrederick L., and PeacockWalter Gillis. 1989. “Long Term Recovery.” International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters7: 349–365.
7.
BatesFrederick L., and PeacockWalter Gillis. 1993. Living Conditions, Disasters, and Development: An Approach to Cross-Cultural Comparisons.Athens: University of Georgia Press.
8.
BatesFrederick L., and PelandaCarlo. 1994. “An Ecological Approach to Disasters.” Pp. 149–159 in Disasters, Collective Behavior, and Social Organization, edited by DynesRussell R., and TierneyKathleen J.Newark: University of Delaware Press.
9.
BelcherJohn C.1972. “A Cross-Cultural Household Level of Living Scale.” Rural Sociology37: 208–220.
10.
BertauxDaniel. 1990. “Oral History Approaches to an International Social Movement.” Pp. 151–171 in Comparative Methodology: Theory and Practice in International Social Research, edited by ØyenElseLondon: Sage.
11.
BertingJan. 1979. “What Is the Use of International Comparative Research.” Pp. 159–178 in Problems in International Comparative Research in the Social Sciences, edited by BertingJan, GeyerFelix, and JurkovichRayNew York: Pergarnon Press.
12.
BlaikiePiers, CannonTerry, DavisIan, and WisnerBen. 1994. At Risk: Natural Hazards, People's Vulnerability, and Disasters.London: Routledge.
13.
BlalockHubert M.1969. Theory Construction: From Verbal to Mathematical Formulations.Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
14.
BlockFred. 1990. Postindustrial Possibilities: A Critique of Economic Discourse.Berkeley: University of California Press.
15.
BolinRobert C., and BoltonPatricia A.. 1978. “Modes of Family Recovery Following Disaster: A Cross-national Study.” Pp. 233–247 in Disasters: Theory and Research, edited by QuarantelliE. L.. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
16.
CalderonFernando, and PiscitelliAlegandro. 1990. “Paradigm Crisis and Social Movements: A Latin American Perspective.” Pp. 81–95 in Comparative Methodology: Theory and Practice in International Social Research, edited by ØyenElseLondon: Sage Publications.
17.
CheshirePaul, FurtdoAna, and MagriniStefano. 1996. “Quantitative Comparisons of European Cities and Regions.” Pp. 39–50 in Cross-National Research Methods in the Social Sciences, edited by HantraisLinda, and MangenSteenLondon: Pinter
18.
DashNicole. 1997. “The Use of Geographic Information Systems in Disaster Research.” International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters15: 135.
19.
DrabekThomas E.1986. Human System Responses to Disaster: An Inventory of Sociological Findings.New York: Springer-Verlag.
20.
DynesRussell R.1988. “Cross-Cultural International Research: Sociology and Disaster.” International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters6: 101–129.
21.
EriksonKai T.1976. Everything in Its Path: Destruction of Community in the Buffalo Creek Flood.New York: Simon & Schuster.
22.
FriesemaH. Paul, CaporasoJames, GoldsteinGerald, LineberryRobert, and McClearyRichard. 1979. Aftermath: Communities After Natural Disasters.Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
23.
GrimshawAllen D.1973. “Comparative Sociology: In What Ways Different from Other Sociologies.” Pp. 3–48 in Comparative Social Research: Methodological Problems and Strategies, edited by ArmerMichael, and GrimshawAllen D.New York: John Wiley & Sons.
24.
GurrT. R.1990. Polity II: Political Structures and Regime Change, 1800–1986.Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, ICPSR 9263.
25.
HantraisLinda, and MangenSteen (eds.). 1996. “Method and Management of Cross-National Social Research.” Pp. 1–12 in Cross-National Research Methods in the Social Sciences, edited by HantraisLinda, and MangenSteenLondon: Pinter.
26.
Hemispheric Congress on Disasters and Sustainable Development.1996. Proceedings.Miami, FL: International Hurricane Center, Florida International University.
27.
HooverGreg A.1989. “Intranational Inequality: A Cross-National Dataset.” Social Forces67: 1008–1026.
28.
HooverGreg A., and BatesFrederick L.. 1985. “The Impact of a Natural Disaster on the Division of Labor in Twelve Guatemalan Communities: A Study of Social Change in a Developing Country.” International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters3: 9–26.
29.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.1995. World Disasters Report 1996.New York: Oxford University Press.
30.
JaggersKieth, and GurrT. R.. 1996. Polity HI: Political Structures and Regime Change, 1800–1994.Ann Arbor, ML Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, ICPSR 6695.
31.
KohnMelvin L.1989a. “Cross-National Research as an Analytical Strategy.” Pp. 77–103 in Cross-National Research in Sociology, edited by KohnMelvin L.Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
32.
KohnMelvin L.1989b. Cross-National Research in Sociology.Newbury Park, California: Sage.
33.
KravisIrving B., HestonAllen W., and SummersRobert. 1982. World Product and Income: International Comparisons of Real Gross Products.Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
34.
KrepsGary, and DrabekThomas E.. 1996. “Disasters Are Nonroutine Social Problems.” International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters14: 129–153.
35.
LaneIan-Erik. 1990. “Data Archives as an Instrument for Comparative Research.” Pp. 187–202 in Comparative Methodology: Theory and Practice in International Social Research, edited by ØyenElseLondon: Sage.
36.
LiebersonStanley. 1985. Making It Count: The Improvement of Social Research and Theory.Berkeley: University of California Press.
37.
MiletiDennis S.1987. “Sociological Methods and Disaster Research.” Pp. 57–70 in Sociology of Disaster, edited by DynesRussell R., MarchiFruna De, and PelandaCarloMilano: Franco Angeli.
38.
Oliver-SmithAnthony. 1992. The Martyred City: Death and Rebirth in the Peruvian Andes.Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland.
39.
Oliver-SmithAnthony. 1996. “Anthropological Research on Hazards and Disasters.” Annual Review of Anthropology25: 303–328.
40.
ØyenElse. 1990a. “The Imperfection of Comparisons.” Pp. 1–18 in Comparative Methodology: Theory and Practice in International Social Research, edited by ØyenElseLondon: Sage.
41.
ØyenElse (ed.). 1990b. Comparative Methodology: Theory and Practice in International Social Research.London: Sage.
42.
PeacockWalter Gillis, HooverGreg, and KillianCharles D.. 1989. “Divergence and Convergence in International Development.” American Sociological Review53: 838–852.
43.
PeacockWalter Gillis, KillianCharles D., and BatesFrederick L.. 1987. “The Effects of Disaster Damage and Housing Aid on Household Recovery Following the 1976 Guatemalan Earthquake.” International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters5: 63–88.
44.
PeacockWalter Gillis, MorrowBetty Hearn, and GladwinHugh. Forthcoming. Hurricane Andrew: Ethnicity, Gender, and the Sociology of Disaster.London: Routledge.
45.
PrinceSamuel Henry. 1920. Catastrophe and Social Change.New York: Longmans, Green and Co.
46.
PrzeworskiAdam, and TeuneHenry. 1970. The Logic of Comparative Social Inquiry.New York: Wiley-Interscience.
47.
RaginCharles C.1987. The Comparative Method.Berkeley: University of California Press.
48.
ScheuchErwin K.1990. “The Development of Comparative Research: Toward Causal Explanations.” Pp. 19–37 in Comparative Methodology: Theory and Practice in International Social Research, edited by ØyenElseLondon: Sage.
49.
SummersRobert, and HestonAllen. 1988. “A New Set of International ComparisonsofReal Product an Price Level Estimates for 130 Countries, 1950–1985.” Review of Income and Wealth34: 1–25.
50.
SwansonGuy. 1971. “Frameworks for Comparative Research: Structural Anthropology and the Theory of Action.” Pp. 141–202 in Comparative Methods in Sociology, edited by VallierIvanBerkeley: University of California Press.
51.
SztompkaPiotr. 1988. “Conceptual Frameworks in Comparative Inquiry: Divergent or Convergent?” International Sociology3: 207–218.
52.
TaylorCharles Lewis, and JodiceDavid A.. 1983. World Handbook of Political and Social Indicators.Cambridge, MA: Yale University Press.
53.
TeuneHenry. 1990. “Comparing Countries: Lessons Learned.” Pp. 38–62 in Comparative Methodology: Theory and Practice in International Social Research, edited by ØyenElseLondon: Sage.
54.
TurnerRalph H.1990. “Comparative Content Analysis of Biographies.” Pp. 134–150 in Comparative Methodology: Theory and Practice in International Social Research, edited by ØyenElseLondon: Sage.
55.
UngersonClare. 1996. “Qualitative Methods.” Pp. 63–66 in Cross-National Research Methods in the Social Sciences, edited by HantraisLinda, and MangenSteenLondon: Pinter.
56.
WallaceA. F. C.1956. Tornado in Worcester: An Exploratory Study of Individual and Community Behavior in an Extreme Situation.Washington, DC: National Academy of Science.
57.
World Resources Institute. 1990. World Resources, 1990–91.New York: Oxford University Press.
58.
WrightJames D., RossiPeter H., WrightSonia R., and Weber-BurdinEleanor. 1979. After the Clean-up: hong-Range Effects of Natural Disasters.Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
