Participatory Disability Research

Participatory disability research is the practice of conducting research with disabled people as active co-researchers and partners rather than as passive subjects of study. It is rooted in Mike Oliver's 1992 challenge to the conventional 'social relations of research production,' in which non-disabled researchers extract data from disabled people for academic ends that rarely benefit the disabled community. The approach embodies the disability-rights principle 'nothing about us without us': disabled people help shape the research questions, choose and adapt accessible methods, collect and co-analyze data, and co-author the dissemination. It is distinct from emancipatory disability research, which goes further by handing disabled people control over the entire social relations of production; participatory research emphasizes genuine partnership and inclusion at every stage. Throughout, the aim is research that is accessible, accountable to disabled people, and oriented toward improving their lives.