A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of - Etheses - Queen Margaret ...

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developing a theory, usually based on the body of research that other
scholars have already conducted
operationalising the theory by developing hypotheses and choosing a
representative sample and a research design
carrying out the research, collecting data and conducting analyses
drawing conclusions about the plausibility of the theory on the basis of
whether or not tests confirm the theory
(Esterberg, 2006:6).
Issues here arose in that, firstly, I already had a theory (the affirmative model) and, secondly,
the qualitative approaches I proposed using did not easily match with the methodological
requirements of deductive reasoning. As well as seeking to establish the validity of the
affirmative model through critical analysis, I wanted to clarify it in the light of disabled
people‟s responses to cultural texts and media representations of disability. That is to say, the
development of the affirmative model would rely on the data I produced through
interviewing disabled people. In Esterberg‟s words, what I wanted to create was an ongoing
dialogue between theoretical concerns and empirical evidence (Esterberg, 2002:8). This
implied the necessity for moving back and forward between inductive and deductive
reasoning, a practice Esterberg argues is legitimate and quite common (Esterberg, 2002:8).
As my thinking about my research developed my area of enquiry began to take the form of a
question: Does anybody like being disabled? This seemed to me a two-sided question. If it is
read from a dominant cultural position it could be seen as rhetorical: if disability is perceived
as individual tragedy, the answer will likely be no, this is an experience nobody would
willingly embrace. If it is read from a perspective informed by the social model, its meaning
is changed: if being disabled involves being oppressed within a disabling society, the answer
is still no, but for different reasons. There is something hidden in here, and that is the
difference between living with impairment and being disabled. When the distinction between
these models is made, the proposition nobody likes being disabled is different to the
proposition nobody likes living with impairment. It seemed that this question afforded an
opportunity to explore some of the areas of difference involved in these two ways of looking.
I hoped the answers I might find in exploring this question would offer insight into ways in
which the affirmative model could be clarified.