Research Fatigue

The exhaustion or disengagement experienced by individuals or communities that are repeatedly recruited for research studies, particularly when they see little benefit or change resulting from their participation. In disability communities, research fatigue is a growing concern as the volume of accessibility research increases while the pool of available participants remains relatively small. Some communities have responded by banning research recruitment — for example, Reddit's r/deaf community implemented a total ban on research recruitment due to the volume of unpaid studies targeting their members.