Emancipatory Disability Research

The Medical Model
Research about disabled people used to be done by researchers on disabled people. They did not do research with disabled people. This research often looked at people’s differences or their problems. It sometimes made it seem as if disabled people were the problem.

This is called medical model or individual model research. It often looks at what is ‘wrong’ with people and tries to find ways to make them better.

The Social Model
Now there are new ways of thinking about how to do research. One of these ways is called ‘emancipatory research’. Emancipatory means something like ‘setting people free’. The important thing about this way of doing research is that it uses a ‘social model’ instead of an individual or medical model.

The social model of disability says barriers (things that get in the way) make people disabled.

If we did social model research, we would look at barriers.

For example, we might look at things which make it difficult for a learning disabled person to have a life like a non-disabled person.

We wouldn’t look at what is ‘wrong’ with learning disabled people.

If you would like more information about the ‘social model’ you can find this at: www.bcodp.org.uk)