Initial findings on the involvement of people with an intellectual disability in interviewing their peers about quality of life

Abstract

There are relatively few examples of emancipatory research in which people with an intellectual disability become co‐workers in the research process. The current study examined the feasibility of training someone with an intellectual disability to conduct quality of life interviews with peers. The extent to which response bias in a sample of 21 people with an intellectual disability varied according to whether interviews were conducted by a researcher or a person with an intellectual disability was also investigated. Response bias was found not to be related to the characteristics of the interviewer. Amongst people who responded without bias, responses were not tailored to interviewer characteristics. The study demonstrated that people with an intellectual disability can be trained and supported to be competent data collectors and to hold positions of responsibility in the research process.