Researcher Bias

The influence of a researcher's own perspectives, assumptions, and identity on how they design studies, ask questions, and interpret data. In accessibility research, researcher bias can manifest when non-disabled researchers position themselves as saviors, frame questions based on assumptions about participants' abilities, or interpret participant behaviors through an ableist lens. For example, a researcher might assume a participant is non-compliant when they are actually interacting with a system in an unexpected but valid way. Strategies to mitigate researcher bias include reflexive practice, positionality statements, member-checking with participants, and co-research approaches that involve community members in the research process.