A collaborative group method of inclusive research

Background: Funding bodies in Australia and the United Kingdom require research on issues that affect the lives of people with intellectual disability to be inclusive. Debate continues about the nature and benefits of inclusive research, which has become an umbrella term encompassing a broad spectrum of approaches. Method: This study proposes one method of inclusive research, the 'collaborative group' approach. It examines the processes used to conduct a study involving academics and self-advocates, presenting findings derived from an inductive analysis of field note data, interview and meeting transcripts. Results: Five components are identified: shared and distinct purposes of participants equally valued, shared involvement and distinct contributions equally valued, flexible, adapted research methods, working as a group with trusting relationships and dispersed power, and scaffolding for inclusion. Conclusions: This collaborative group method potentially results in better research than either academics or self-advocates could achieve alone and has multiple knowledge outcomes with differing accessibility and complexity.