Methods for Researching Humanitarian Relief Systems

Research in the field of humanitarian relief is sparse. Yet, ineffective communication and coordination in response to disasters such as Hurricane Katrina highlight the need to research humanitarian relief information and communication systems (HR ICS) from a user-centered perspective. Currently, with little research done in the humanitarian sector, and even less done focusing on the user experience of humanitarian personnel, designing improved humanitarian relief ICS for future preparedness, response and recovery has little published empirical research on which to draw. This paper positions humanitarian relief communication as a research issue, profiles some of the research methods we could use to research HR ICS including an assessment of each method's strengths and weaknesses, and a brief conclusion offering next steps in developing a user-centered humanitarian relief ICS research community