Doing Accessible Social Research: A Practical Guide

✍ Scribed by Daniela Aidley; Kriss Fearon

• Publisher: Policy Press
• Year: 2021
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 247
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Nearly 20% of the population has a disability. Despite this, mainstream research often does not explicitly address the methodological and practical issues that can act as barriers to disabled people’s participation in social research. In this book, Aidley and Fearon provide a concise, practical introduction to making it easier for everyone to take part in research. Requiring no prior knowledge about accessible research methods, the book: • explains how removing barriers to participation will improve the quality of the research; • covers the research process from design, to collecting data, to dissemination and publication; • includes checklists and further reading, as well as useful examples and vignettes to illustrate how issues play out in practice. This book will be invaluable to researchers from a variety of backgrounds looking to increase participation in their research, whether postgraduate students, experienced academic researchers, practitioners or professionals.

✦ Table of Contents

Front cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
List of checklists and tables
Glossary
Acknowledgements and thanks
1. Introduction
Aim and audience of the book
Disability and impairments: definitions and prevalence
The case for accessible research
Preparing with vignettes
Why it is not only about disability
Summary
2. Research that includes disabled people
Definition of disability
Models of disability
Use of respectful language
Research ‘with’ or ‘on’ disabled people
Vulnerability, power and privilege
Research approaches designed to include disabled people
Universal Design
Summary
3. Research questions and research design
When might a research question touch on accessibility?
Factors affecting participation
The researcher
Limitations
Use of secondary data
Reflexivity
Payment
Advisory or reference groups
Accessibility and ethics approval
Approaches to applying for ethical approval
Sources of support and advice
Summary
4. Sampling
Sampling and qualitative methods
Sampling and quantitative methods
Summary
5. Recruitment and the research setting
Recruiting and communicating with participants
Summary
6. Face-to-face research
Choosing a suitable location
Travel to the venue – what participants need to know
Before starting the session
Closing and follow-up
Individual interviews
Group interviews
Stimulus materials
Including participant-produced content
Summary
7. Online and remote research methods
Why use online methods to collect research data?
General guidance
Designing accessible surveys
Data collection via email
Data collection via SMS or WhatsApp
Video interviews
PDF accessibility
Data security
Testing and piloting
Summary
8. Mixed media, triangulation and mixed methods
Risk and mitigation
Experiment
Observation or ethnography
Use of archival data or secondary data
Photography and visual material
Diary studies
Participatory mapping
Summary
9. Writing up, publication and impact
Why should we talk about our research to the public?
Accountability
Conferences
Journals
Books
Research-informed teaching
Impact
Using social media for research
Conventional media
Public engagement
Support for impact and public engagement activities
Summary
Accessibility: necessary, not optional
Appendix 1: Associations for people with disabilities based on profession or personal interest
Appendix 2: Disability-focused charities and organisations
Appendix 3: Checking accessibility yourself
Appendix 4: Text relay services
Appendix 5: Tagging languages in a document
Appendix 6: Encrypting documents
Index
Back cover