Blogmasters
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"Research has been owned by the researchers. Thus researchers have been much more powerful than the researched people in many cases. In Disability Studies, it has been argued that this research context had contributed to reinforce the discrimination against disabled people in society. We would like to question this predominant research context by employing participatory research method in our study.
Participatory Research Method aims at participation of the researched people to the research process, thereby filling some of the power gaps between the researchers and the researched people. In this method, therefore, the researched people are active research participants rather than passive object of the research. The research process includes identifying the research questions, planning and designing the research, collecting data, analysing and interpreting the data and sharing the results. When the research participants can share their inputs based on their own experiences, the research can create relevant knowledge for them. The participation, however, is not compulsory. The research participants can make the decision on when and how to participate and not to participate in the research. The ultimate goal of this research method in our study is that the research outcomes will contribute to the sustainable, positive change towards the equality of disabled people.
However, we cannot give a false expectation to our research. We have to be clear about our research outcomes that we cannot promise a dramatic change because the research is only part of the society and because any single research of this kind cannot make such a significant change within the limited resources. Having stated that, we would like to make our modest contribution to the disability movement to fight against discrimination from an academic side."
