How participants are integrated into community-driven research for accessibility: A systematic review

Community-driven research, including citizen science and crowdsourcing, offers effective approaches for addressing accessibility challenges. Given the user-sensitive nature of accessibility research—particularly when involving people with disabilities—it is essential to include individuals from the intended beneficiary groups. This study examines how community-driven research has been applied in accessibility-related contexts and identifies the issues explored. Through a systematic review, we analyzed the topics, mechanisms, participants, and beneficiaries involved. The findings reveal diverse engagement methods and three levels of participation: observers or data collectors, data providers, and task executors. Participants were involved based on professional expertise, personal characteristics, contextual relevance, or as general volunteers. Notably, many studies did not explicitly describe the role of the target population, making it unclear whether the intended beneficiaries were actively involved. The study concludes by proposing future research directions, emphasizing the importance of examining researcher–volunteer relationships through the lenses of ethics, trust, and role expectations.