Abstract
Ciaran Burke (University of the West of England) and Bronagh Byrne (Centre for Children's Rights and co-founder of the Disability Research Network at Queen's University Belfast) have dedicated their book, Social Research and Disability. Developing Inclusive Research Spaces for Disabled Researchers, to disabled researchers and focus on science, education, human rights, and inclusive research. The book is an international anthology, written by fourteen researchers in the fields of social research and disability who are active in England, Canada, and Australia. It consists of ten chapters and is divided into three different parts: (1) ‘Navigating the Academy’; (2) ‘Conducting Research in the Field’; and (3) ‘Shifting Methodologies’.
One of the interesting aspects of the book is that the authors present critical perspectives on how sociology can be used in disability research, relating it to the individual, group, and society. This is especially important because many people with disabilities are exposed to systemic oppression in a large number of countries. The book describes and problematises the experiences of researchers with various disabilities during their research at universities.
Part 1 refers to “a safe, accessible, and productive space for student researchers with complex communication disabilities”, the experiences and reflections of a disabled social and feminist geographer, “wheelchair ethnography”, and various dilemmas for the provision of disability support. The second part of the book deals with mental disabilities and mental health. The third part describes the experiences of doing different methods, such as qualitative research and biographical research. At the end of the book, the editors conclude: “In bringing together research-academics who identify as ‘disabled’, this book centralises or ‘normalises’ disabled researchers and positions the social sciences as the key issue of inquiry. It is clear that the methodologies upon which the social sciences have made its name has not been designed for (or indeed by) researchers who happen to fall outside of corporeal norms”.
It is the authors’ intention to give voice to those researchers with disabilities who have been marginalised and excluded from the “sociological ablestream”. This book is unique in that it provides an insight into disability researchers’ own experiences and reflections on research and working at different universities. They describe their experiences of various disabilities, such as physical disability, deaf-blindness, deafness, visual impairment, chronic health conditions, and psychosocial disability. Moreover, they also consider their role and work with disability research, hence raising awareness about barriers, obstacles, and exclusion within the academy. For example, the authors describe how “disabled academics” (disabled researchers) have not received attention after having “appeared bound by ableist norms” and discuss the fact that disability research has been conducted for many years without including researchers with disabilities. One of the book's distinct strengths is that disability researchers themselves represent disabilities in various facets. However, at the same time, this diversity is limited: for example, intellectual disabilities are left out.
Another asset of the book is that it presents positive and possible ways of working with research, while at the same time showing how exclusive academic environments can be for people with disabilities who want to engage in research at universities. The importance of good and accessible environments, good supervision, and interactions with other researchers are clearly pointed out. The editors believe that it is important for universities and the social sciences to “create meaningfully inclusive spaces”. They recommend such measures as acknowledgement, accessibility, additional labour, and actions. Improving the accessibility and inclusiveness of universities is not only about all spatial aspects of the physical working environment - such as access to libraries and classrooms, as well as software for computers - but goes beyond them: for example, support for all researchers to balance work and family life. It is also vital to appreciate disabled researchers as an asset in research and to analyse disabilities in the same way as gender, ethnicity, or sexuality.
In disability research, there are several elements of “inclusive research”, “participatory research”, and “patient involvement”. Hence, the book may be interesting to read for representatives of the international disability movement and various patient organisations. Since many disability organisations and patient organisations fund research and collaborate with universities, it is important that they are involved in the research and research process and take part in the experiences that are described in this book. The slogan, “Nothing About Us Without Us”, also applies in academia.
The book is an exceptionally well-written and important anthology, which may be a starting point in postgraduate education in topics including social work, social policy, disability policy, and disability research. It strengthens both the disability perspective and disability research more generally. It is recommendable for students, teachers, and researchers in the social sciences (sociology), but also in multidisciplinary research. By reading and reflecting on inaccessible research environments, exclusion, positioning, power, obstacles, and limitations with different research methods, it is my belief that everyone can learn something from the voices in this book.
