Shadowing as a qualitative research method for intellectual disability research: Opportunities and challenges

Abstract

Background: While qualitative research on intellectual disability is on the rise, researchers have frequently reported that their methods bring methodological and ethical challenges. The authors advance shadowing as an alternative method to respond to these concerns. Method: The authors draw on their experiences with shadowing on the basis of two separate studies respectively, involving 28 and 17 people with intellectual disabilities. Results: Four distinct advantages of shadowing are presented: it is flexible, gives unique insight in daily life experiences, can aid in giving "voice" to people with intellectual disabilities, and can aid in the pursuit of inclusive research. Three challenges of shadowing research were also identified, relating to ethical approval, privacy and role confusion. Conclusions: Shadowing is a promising method for intellectual disability research, as it allows researchers to garner data virtually inaccessible with other methods. It is particularly useful for research questions about everyday life and interpersonal relationships.

A Study of Architectural Barriers and the Potential Role of Assistive Technologies in Long-term Healthcare Centres for People with Alzheimer’s

“…The principle for combining quantitative and qualitative data is that neither method is sufficient by itself to examine specifics of circumstances, such as a complex topic of how AD changes a person's interaction with space. The combination of quantitative and qualitative data provides a complete understanding of the research problem than either approach by itself [27]. Data was acquired through a quantitative questionnaire (in the German language) followed by qualitative face-toface interviews (in the English language) with caregivers and professional experts [28] at an Alzheimer's healthcare center in Vienna, Austria.…”

“…Furthermore, a qualitative narrative study was conducted using shadowing observation for one of the center's residents in single-room occupancy. Among other qualitative methodologies, shadowing characterizes itself by (1) combining observation and interaction and (2) focusing on a single perspective within a larger social situation [29]. Due to COVID-19-related access limitations to the center, observing only one patient in the early stage of AD was possible.…”

Stroke Patients’ Free-Time Activities and Spatial Preferences During Inpatient Recovery in Rehabilitation Centers

“…For example, notation of positions on the floor plans can be added to accompany the field notes in studies where the role of the built environment is important. In contrast to behavioral mapping, the researcher using shadowing takes a nearly continuous set of field notes on the observation day (Mcdonald, 2005), combined with short, on-the-go interviews where participants explain or reflect on specific actions or behaviors (van der Weele & Bredewold, 2021). Shadowing, therefore, results in a “rich, dense and comprehensive data set,” which can then be analyzed as any other qualitative data (Mcdonald, 2005, p. 457).…”

Recognising Basic Health Literacy Capabilities: An Explorative Study on the Relevance of Health-Related Information in the Support of People with Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities

“…This cloth was also used in the further research process to indicate that we would share the (research) day with him in the sense of ongoing consent. On two days, participant observation was conducted [ 38 ] to investigate the relevance and occurrence of health-related information in the participant’s everyday life. These findings were consensually documented in observation protocols, and some situations were videotaped.…”