T3: Advanced Science Initiative
A Systematic Review of Research on Community Participation by People with Disabilities
The purpose of this project is to conduct a systematic review of the literature on participation in community life by people with disabilities.
Anticipated Benefits
Besides expanding knowledge about participation of people with disabilities, existing knowledge in the literature will be consolidated to further research in the area of participation as it relates to people with disabilities.
Study Design
As science advances, so does its methods. This systematic review follows rigorous methods that have been established to assess and consolidate knowledge on a particular topic.
The first step was to sponsor a series of discussions with a variety of experts in the field. The discussions of this Expert Review Panel lead to group agreement on key elements regarding participation among people with disabilities. Next, key questions were decided to focus the literature review.
A preliminary literature review was conducted. After deciding what to include and what to exclude, the experts listed key search terms and decided what information was needed from each publication.
At this point, a research librarian found abstracted publications that met the search guidelines. Trained readers then determined whether a publication should be included or excluded. After additional review, staff located full articles of selected articles and recorded their information, then produced statistical information from them.
Participation: Preliminary Observations and Recommendations from a Scoping Review (PDF available upon request)
For more information on systematic reviews, visit the National Rehabilitation Information Center article "How to Read a Paper: Papers that Summarise Other Papers (Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses" (article from the 1997 British Medical Journal 315, 672-675).
For more information on this project, contact the Research and Training Center on Measurement and Interdependence in Community Living at the RTC/IL, 4089 Dole, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, Phone: 785-864-4095 (voice), 785-864-0706 (TTY), RTCIL@ku.edu
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research grant H133B060018