Learning from Hurricane Harvey: Analyzing Contributions from the Social Science Extreme Events Research (SSEER) Network

This project uses data from the Social Science Extreme Events Research (SSEER) network (N=1,230) and examines the characteristics of social scientists who study hurricanes. Hurricane Harvey is utilized as a case study because it stands as one of the most costly disasters in U.S. history and is one of the most often studied events in the SSEER database with about 12% of SSEER members who reported studying this event. This, therefore, presents a special opportunity to explore a primary interest in emerging researchers (students and others new to the field), since they will be at the forefront of disaster research, preparedness, and mitigation efforts in the future. Discovering similarities and differences between researchers of the same event can foster new understandings: What knowledge, skills, and training create the pipeline that leads social science researchers to study extreme events? What role do popular disaster events like hurricanes play in the development of emerging researchers? And what kinds of researchers were most likely to study Hurricane Harvey?