Researching Integrated Disaster Risk Management from an Interpretive/Critical Perspective

Abstract

This essay describes what an interpretive/critical perspective on integrated disaster risk management entails and highlights related research contributions in the field. These contributions offer researchers examples of interdisciplinary, international, multi-methodological, and cross-cultural research in an array of disaster contexts that reflect the philosophical and normative commitments of interpretive/critical scholarship. The essay describes the author's experiences in applying an interpretive/critical perspective in researching the U.S. Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system, and it explores the value (and risks) that such a perspective holds for policy intervention, institutional practice, and one's own professional development.