Illustrating Inclusive Interview Methodology in Research
Content
This presentation will highlight the research methods used in two recent studies that illustrate distinct and complementary approaches to conducting paired interviews. The first approach is featured in an article published in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) entitled “Reciprocity and Social Capital in Sibling Relationships of People with Disabilities.” The second approach, detailed in an article published in Qualitative Research on “Dyadic Interviewing: A Technique Valuing Interdependence in Interviews with Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities,” is used to address the questions raised in an article published in IDD entitled, “The Potential of Social Entrepreneurship: Conceptual Tools for Applying Theory to Policy and Practice.”
Presenters will begin by summarizing their studies, its findings, and key methodological gaps encountered in their research. Key issues around including the perspectives of people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and contextualizing the role of support persons. The inclusion of participants of color while also addressing frequent gender imbalance in studies in this area will be discussed. Presenters will pose strategies for researchers who are interested in including the voices of people with I/DD in research. Finally, they will provide lessons learned on what did and did not work well in terms of inclusive research strategies.
Presenters
John Kramer, PhD, works with the research team at the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts at Boston on systems change, employment issues for people with disabilities, and family roles in supporting employment. He was a 2011-2012 Switzer Research Fellow sponsored by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research in the Department of Education. For the fellowship, his work focuses on the involvement of siblings in supporting and maintaining employment for people with disabilities. He holds a PhD in Disability Studies, with his dissertation research looking at aging issues for siblings and people with disabilities. John co-founded the Sibling Leadership Network, Massachusetts Sibling Support Network, and Supporting Illinois Brothers and Sister
Tamar Heller, PhD, is Head of the Department of Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and director of its University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities for the State of Illinois. She also directs the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Developmental Disabilities and Health, the Institute’s Family Clinics, and the TAP autism training program. She has active projects on family support and health promotion interventions for individuals with disabilities. Dr. Heller has written over 200 publications and presented numerous papers at major conferences on family support interventions and policies, self-determination, health promotion, and aging of people with disabilities. She has written or co-edited 5 books and has edited special issues of Technology and Disability, American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, and Family Relations. She is past President of the board of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities.
Kate Caldwell, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) where she works on the Ligas Implementation Evaluation project and the ADA Knowledge Translation project. Her research in the area of employment and social policy has focused on the experiences of people with disabilities, and I/DD in particular, in entrepreneurship. For two and a half years she served as the Editorial Coordinator for the AAIDD journal, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. She is an RSA-USA fellow and the co-organizer of the Society for Disability Studies special interest group on Work Employment & Society.
This presentation was hosted by the AAIDD Research Division.