Exploring theories and expanding methodologies

de Sharon N. Barnartt, Barbara Mandell Altman

Research in all areas of social science must have theoretical and empirical underpinnings; this volume's intention is to examine those underpinnings as they relate to the study of disability from a social science perspective. One of the reasons for the need to examine these underpinnings comes from the displeasure, frequently expressed by disability scholars and activists, about the quality of research relating to disability. This displeasure spans the gamut from the models used, the research questions asked, the vocabulary used, to analyses, results and ethical abuses. Some activists are demanding a say in what research is done as well as how it is done. They are demanding control over how their bodies and minds are used in research; they are also attempting to wrest control from researchers who don't understand disability or who don't share their interpretation of it.