Emancipatory Research

A research paradigm that positions people with disabilities not merely as research subjects but as active agents who lead and control research about their own lives and experiences. Emerging from the disability rights movement and the social model of disability, emancipatory research challenges traditional power dynamics in academic research by insisting that disabled people set the research agenda, control the research process, and own the outcomes. This approach is distinct from participatory research, which involves disabled people in researcher-led projects, by placing disabled people in positions of authority over the research itself. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) supports this principle, articulating the right of people with disabilities to participate at all levels of society, including research.