Extractive Research

A critique of research practices — common in industry UX and academic HCI — in which researchers take data, insights, or stories from a community, often marginalized, without ongoing relationship, reciprocity, or benefit flowing back. Extractive research is associated with short, transactional engagements, tokenistic consultation, and failure to share findings or outcomes with participating communities. Accessibility and disability-rights methodologies such as Community-Based Participatory Research and CoLoop are designed to disrupt extractive patterns through long-term partnerships, co-analysis, and the principle of Nothing About Us Without Us.