Return to: Main Document Contents

Appendix E: Methodology

This appendix provides information on the methodologies used to identify the research projects, conference recommendations and bibliographic references provided in this document.

Research Projects

To locate research projects specific to emergency management and disability, we first searched the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research's database of projects known as NARIC, the National Rehabilitation Information Center ( http://www.naric.com). This search yielded all projects funded by NIDRR.

We then researched publicly available Web sites and databases to identify additional public, private and international research projects in emergency management and disability. These included Web sites such as: the National Organization on Disability; the National Science Foundation; the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; the National Institute on Standards and Technology; Doctors Without Borders; the World Health Organization; the Pan American Health Organization; the United Nations, Oxfam International, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. We also searched databases such as the Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects (CRISP), Ovid, REHABDATA and ABLEDATA, and databases sponsored by the Trace Center and the National Center for the Dissemination of Disability Research. Examples of key search terms included: "research," "research grants," "emergency evacuation," "emergency preparedness" and "emergency management anddisability."

Additionally, we surveyed all members of the ICDR in May 2005 to continue our search for research projects funded by federal agencies. Steven Tingus, former director of NIDRR, sent a letter to the ICDR membership requesting assistance identifying research projects in this area. We included the list of projects we had identified thus far, and requested any additions. We also included a questionnaire we had developed in conjunction with a broader DHS survey of emergency preparedness activities. The research questionnaire provided a definition of "research activities" and "development activities," and asked for information about past, current and planned projects funded by each ICDR agency.

Finally, we again searched multiple Web sites to locate any additional funded projects.

Conference Recommendations

We searched Web sites and conference reports from conferences on emergency management and disability for research recommendations. We then compiled a preliminary list of conferences, sent it out for comment to ICDR members and asked them for assistance in identifying additional conferences that may have issued research recommendations. However, no further conferences were identified as a result of that effort.

Research recommendations from the proceedings of identified conferences are reprinted verbatim in this guide; however, we did make minor changes to the formats and fonts in order to provide consistency in this document.

Bibliography

The process of compiling bibliographic citations for research on emergency management and disability included several venues. First, we performed searches on general search engines (Google, Google Scholar and various disability and emergency management Web sites). Second, we searched numerous databases, including Engineering Village 2 (Compendex), FirstSearch (WorldCat), PubMed, EBSCo Information Services, ERIC, Books in Print, ISI Web of Knowledge and IgentaConnect. Examples of major search terms included "disability," "emergency," "emergency management and disability" and "emergency preparedness and disability." Third, we contacted NIDRR grantees and other researchers known to be working in the areas of emergency management and disability and asked them to send us lists of their research publications. Fourth, we searched both the Project Safe EV-AC Library Database (available at http://evac.icdi.wvu.edu) and the American Association on Health and Disability Annotated Bibliography on Emergency Preparedness and Response for People with Disabilities (available at http://aahd.webchoices.us/site/static/pdfs/bestPractices/emergencypreparedness.doc.) These last two sources yielded an extensive list of guidelines, fact sheets, checklists, reports and other planning information. Finally, we reviewed bibliographies from relevant studies and projects.

The bibliography in our report does not reprint the citations for the many "how to" guides to preparing for an emergency, nor does it include every newspaper article on emergency management and disability. It focuses on research, other scholarly articles that relate to emergency management and disability, and government publications of relevance. References are from both the United States and abroad. Web links are provided where available.

Note to reader: The three Web sites given in this appendix were last accessed on March 28, 2008.

The Department of Education's mission is to promote student achievement and
preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational
excellence and ensuring equal access.
www.ed.gov