Emergent groups in disaster research: Varieties of scientific observation over time and across studies of nine natural disasters

There is an increasing emphasis on the diversity of disaster volunteering among disaster researchers. Our aim was to review the extent to which, and in what forms, emergent groups in the aftermath of natural disasters are examined as a topic of research. We review previous crisis and disaster management research, focusing particularly on those parts of the disaster research literature which treat with volunteerism. We describe and discuss how this research has evolved 1960–2016, and analyse how different forms of volunteerism, particularly emergent groups, have been researched following nine natural disasters. We utilize the Disaster Research Center typology to systematize and categorize research from different disaster contexts. The review shows that research on disaster management is fraught with an understanding of organization in disaster contexts based on the primacy of established formal organizations. We suggest a more fine‐tuned conceptualization of disaster volunteerism and we call for further research on actor motivations.