Exploring the lived experiences of adults with physical disability: Experiences of a researcher

Ritu Singh, Geeta Chopra

Abstract


More often the research in the disability domain is dominated by the quantitative approaches thus giving primacy to the biomedical lens and neglecting the experiential accounts of the individuals having disability. Of late, qualitative research methods aiming at subjective insights is gaining grounds in the disability research but conducting it with vulnerable group isn’t an easy task. This article is born out of experiences of undertaking a PhD study that focuses on the voices of adults with physical disability in the age bracket 21-35 years by listening to their stories; it is assumed that listening to the voices would bring a shift in the dominant discourse of ableist society that views people with disabilities as passive beings. The study explores their experiences of living with a physical disability. The opening paragraph of the article outlines the role of qualitative research in making people with disabilities visible, followed by why the voices and stories of these individuals matter. However, the main focus of this article is to share the methodological challenges encountered while being in the field and how the researcher has navigated the process of collecting life stories of adults with physical disability. This paper relies heavily on field reflections of the Ph.D. work.


Keywords


People with disabilities, qualitative research, voices, life story, field reflections.

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References


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ISSN: 2454-6623