Introduction
In the research on disaster management during a disastrous situation both natural and man-made disasters such as earthquakes, hurricane, tornadoes and terrorist attacks, I would suggest to use Descriptive Design. These kind of design provides answers to the questions of where, when, what, who and how. It provides information concerning the existing status of the happening and explains what exists with respect to the condition of the situation (Creswell & Creswell, 2007). It involves collecting data in order to test hypotheses or answer questions concerning the current status of the situation. It also involves conversion of data in numerical form so that statistical calculation and conclusion can be made.
Descriptive design is advantageous in using it, as it makes it possible to conduct a detailed analysis as one can correct large amount of data. This is by use of various methods of data collections such as interviews, questionnaires among others (Creswell & Creswell, 2007). These provide adequate data that is detailed and using it is possible to provide a more reliable data.
Descriptive design yields rich data that lead to chief recommendations. Due to the detailed data collected and the extensive research carried out, one can come up with more reasonable recommendations that can help solve the situations (Creswell & Creswell, 2007). It gives valuable pointers as to what variables are worth testing. This type of design provides valuable indicators that test the variables. This gives an advantage in knowing what variable is being tested and how it is being tested.
However, it has limitations in that its results cannot be replicated. Ones the research is conducted, it is very difficult to repeat the same research and get the same results. These can be attributed to the number of people involved or the various data collection method used (Kane, 1985). This design cannot be used to answer or disprove a hypothesis as it fails to provide a definite answer.
Validity is defined as the test whether a study can scientifically answer the question it was intended to. In our research, we shall validate our research on whether our final findings will provide a solution on how to manage future disasters. A valid research should come up with appropriate recommendations on how to manage and help the victims of such disasters (Kane, 1985).
Internal validity can be defined as the approximate validity with which we say a relationship between two variables is causal. This validity is obtained through the use of design features and control techniques. In our plan we look at the relation of the variables; that is the dependent variable and the independent variable. Testing, maturation, history, instrumentation, experimental mortality, selection and statistical regression are confounding factors that can affect the internal validity (Kane, 1985). Internal validity is important because it helps us to improve the world and similar situations.
Threats to internal validity will compromise our confidence in stating that a relationship exists between the variables. These occur when we ask questions such as:
1. Is the researcher's conclusion correct?
2. Are the changes in the dependent variable as a result of stimulus from the independent variable?
3. Could the variation in the dependent variable be attributed to other causes?
4. Is the researcher based on his analysis and finding?
External validity is said to be the extent of which result of a study is said to be true in other cases or situation. In our research plan, it would be to validate if a research done for example in a tornado area, is its results representative for other situations such as terrorist attacks.
The threat to this validity is whether the study sample is representative of the whole population. Other threats include:
- Reactive effects of testing; this is when a pretest may increase the scores in a posttest.
- Interaction effects of selection biases and the experimental variable.
- Reactive effects of experimental arrangements, this is the inclusion of the effects of people who are not in the study. It would mean non-victims of disaster are said to recommend a solution that would resemble that recommended by the victims.
- Multiple-treatment interference, this is where the effects of earlier treatment are not erasable.
The management team or research practitioners should adhere to ethical considerations. These are the appropriate ways in handling the participants in their research so as not to jeopardize their political, social and economic lives. Therefore the team has to ensure the victims are not hurt either physically or mentally, victim privacy should be highly confidential and ensure respect, concern, dignity and welfare of the participants and adherence to professional rule and regulations that govern research with human participants (Kane, 1985).
There are many other quantitative research designs that could be used in the proposed design. However, it was not appropriate to use any other design apart from descriptive research design since the other research designs are limited in the information that they can provide and trustworthiness of the obtained information. This research designs include;
Cause-comparative
This method establishes the cause-effect relationship and compares it. The researcher is not in a position to influence the cause. In this design the causes of the emergencies may be identified from the community members and will highly boost the validity or reliability of the data. Chronological progression of the events are certainly identifiable as it is the community members who are directly involved in the emergencies (Maxim, 1999).
However, manipulation of the results is not possible thus making it comparatively difficult to generalize the conclusions (Spector, 2001). The questionnaires and other methods of data collection will contain data whose reliability is in doubt and its use will compromise the conclusions.
Correlational
The research attempts to determine whether and to what degree a relationship exists between two or more variables. The causes and effects of the emergency occurrences can be obtained from even government officials who have previously engaged in disaster mitigation (Maxim, 1999). By engaging a large number of people in the research, the validity of the collected data will improve as the community will have confidence and be faithful to the researcher.
The correlation between the variables involved in the studies may not be easy to determine. It may also be time consuming and tedious to collect and analyze data regarding the emergencies involved. It will require more than 30 participants in order to increase the validity of the research (Muijs, 2004). Since the variables involved in the research are limited, it may not be possible to use this method.
Experimental Design
Experimental design would provide the uppermost level of evidence for single studies such as the one in question (Muijs, 2004). It would actually have provided reliable information on the reasons and frequency of occurrence of the emergencies. This method will enable the researcher to establish a casual relationship between the causes of the emergencies and its effects. It will be easy for the researchers to collect the required information regarding the emergencies and would consequently be easy to make a reliable conclusion in which the answers to the questions will be included.
The method is very artificial and it may not be reasonable to generalize. The data in question may easily be manipulated and therefore alter the findings and apparently the results. However, the method is also very costly as it will be necessary to use special facilities that will enhance data collection and enhance community-researcher interaction (Spector, 2001). Experimental design also requires experimentation in order to obtain information. It will be unethical to experiment with a disaster so as to make inferences.
In conclusion therefore, the descriptive research design is the best design to use for the research as it will enable the researcher to obtain information that will help in answering the research questions. The research design will also help in the formulation and implementation of disaster mitigation and management policies, thus reducing the loss of lives and property that is brought about by the disasters. The other designs are also comparatively strong but may not be very appropriate in addressing the research at hand due to their numerous limitations.
References
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
In Lazarsfeld, P. F., & In Rosenberg, M. (1955). The language of social research: A reader in the methodology of social research. Glencoe, Ill: Free Press.
Kane, E. (1985). Doing your own research: Basic descriptive research in the social sciences and humanities. London: M. Boyars.
Maxim, P. S. (1999). Quantitative research methods in the social sciences. New York: Oxford University Press.
Muijs, D. (2004). Doing quantitative research in education with SPSS. London: SAGE.
Spector, P. E. (2001). Research designs. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.
