Participant Observation and Academic Disablement: A Duoethnographic Exploration of the Experiences of Disabled Scholars

Using the social model of disability, this duoethnographic exploration allows readers a glimpse of how disabled scholars navigated participant observation as a method. In doing so, we highlight issues of accessibility at the intersections of two similar but different identity markers. The first author, a woman, experiences inaccessibility as a blind scholar. The second author, a man, experiences inaccessibility because of cerebral palsy. We foreground how research methods often assume normative abilities. We also forge a path to make participant observation more inclusive for disabled scholars. Together, we discuss both the obstacles embedded within current methods and potential solutions, concluding with recommendations for fostering greater accessibility in fieldwork and participant observation.