Unanticipated ethical issues in a participatory research project with individuals with intellectual disability

Abstract

The conduct of a participatory research investigation into the everyday literacy of adults with intellectual disability within the context of a PhD thesis highlighted issues related to the ethics of participatory research and the need to revisit and reconsider ethical guidelines around working with individuals with intellectual disability. Tensions were identified between participatory research ideology and the reality of research experiences, with additional issues arising due to disability in the first author.

Keywords:

• ethics
• participatory research
• intellectual disability
• issues

Acknowledgement

Special thanks to the research-partners for their integral involvement in this project.