How did we do our research?

A group of people pointing at themselves with their hands raised.

To do our research, we wanted to work with:

  • people with disability
  • their families.

We did this by:

A group of people in a meeting.

  • making our co-design group

A group of people in a meeting around a laptop.

  • running different focus groups

A person giving a talk to a group of people.

  • working out how to connect with people with disability and their families.

We explain each of these on the following pages.

Our co-design group

A group of people having a meeting.

Co-design is when people work together to plan something new.

Three people standing in front of a research board. One of them is pointing at it.

When our research project started, we made a co‑design group.

A group of people on couches having a conversation.

The co-design group included people with different disabilities.

A group of people with a lightbulb above them.

At the start of our research project, the co‑design group gave us ideas about how to connect with people with disability.

Two people looking at a document together.

And at the end of our research project, the co-design group had a meeting about:

  • what we learned from the research
  • how we can write this report.

A lightbulb next to a report icon

We used the ideas from their meeting to write this report.

Research participants

Three people pointing at themselves with their hands raised.

A research participant is someone who takes part in a research project.

We also call them participants.

A group of people with the number 36 above them.

We had 36 participants in our research.

A map of Australia with a marker on Adelaide.

Most of the participants lived in Adelaide.

Four icons, the first is a wheelchair, the second is a person thinking with a lightbulb above them, the third is a brain, the fourth is an ear with a line through it.

And the participants had lots of different disabilities.

A person in a wheelchair pointing at themselves.

We had participants with a physical disability.

A physical disability affects how someone moves and uses their body.

An icon of a person with a speech bubble and a thought bubble above them.

We also had participants with a cognitive disability.

A cognitive disability affects how someone:

  • thinks
  • communicates
  • understands
  • remembers.

A person is helping someone else with writing in a booklet. Both are smiling.

And we had participants with an intellectual disability.

An intellectual disability affects how someone can:

  • learn new things
  • solve problems
  • communicate
  • do things on their own.

Icons of an eye and an ear.

We had participants with a disability that affects how they see or hear.

An icon of a brain with a warning symbol under it.

We also had participants with a brain injury.

A brain injury can happen when someone:

  • has a bad accident
  • hurts their head badly
  • damages their brain.

A human brain with an infinity symbol in it.

We had participants with autism.

Autism is a disability that might affect how you:

  • think and feel
  • communicate
  • connect and deal with others.

A person talking to a psychologist.

And we had participants with a psychosocial disability.

A psychosocial disability comes from a person’s mental health.

An icon of a group of people standing next to a world globe.

10 of these participants were culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) people.

CaLD people:

A group of people from different countries and backgrounds.

  • come from different countries or backgrounds

Speech bubbles with languages other than English in them.

  • speak languages other than English.

Two people pointing at themselves with their hands raised. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags are above them with the number zero.

But we didn’t have any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander participants.

Our focus groups

A group of people having a meeting around a laptop. Above them is a calendar icon saying October 2021 and the number 7.

We ran 7 focus groups in October 2021.

A person having a video call on their laptop.

5 of these focus groups were on a video call.

An icon of a group of people having a meeting next to the number 2. There is a map of South Australia with a marker on Adelaide.

And 2 of these focus groups were in Adelaide.

Three different groups of people.

The co-design group told us we should run focus groups for different groups of people.

A group of people looking at a document. There is a thought bubble with a tick in it.

This helps us understand what opinions these groups of people have.

A group of people pointing at themselves with their hands raised.

We also had focus groups that everyone could take part in.

This meant lots of people with different experiences.

Doing our research the right way

A person pointing at themselves. There is an icon of a consent form with a tick on it.

Before participants took part in a focus group, we asked them to give their consent.

When you give your consent, you say it’s okay to do something.

A person reading a document.

And we gave the participants information that:

  • was easy to read and understand
  • met their needs.

This information was about:

A group of people having a meeting.

  • how we will run the focus groups

A computer with data on the screen.

  • the NDDA.

A recording icon on a computer screen. There is also a consent form with a tick on it.

We recorded the focus groups that were online.

All participants gave their consent for us to record the session.

A data icon pointing to a computer with a lock on it.

All the data we collect is saved on a computer.

It is protected by a password.

A data icon next to a person with a question mark on them.

The data doesn’t say who the participants are.

A group of people looking at a document.

And only we can use the data.

What affected the research?

A map icon, a person icon, and a disability icon above a document with a magnifying glass on it.

There were some things that affected our research.

It’s important we explain what these things are.

A map of Australia with South Australia highlighted with a tick. The other states have question marks on them.

Most participants were from South Australia.

This means we don’t know what people with disability in other parts of Australia think about the NDDA.

The Bhutanese flag.

The people in the CaLD focus group were from the Bhutanese community.

This means we only know what the Bhutanese community thinks about the NDDA.

A group of people.

It’s important we connect with more CaLD communities to know what they think about the NDDA.

We didn’t have many participants with:

A person talking to a psychologist.

  • psychosocial disability

A human brain with an infinity symbol in it.

  • autism.

Two people pointing at themselves with their hands raised. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags are above them with the number zero.

And we didn’t have anyone in the focus groups tell us they were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

A group of people sitting outside having a conversation near a laptop.

It’s important we try to connect with these groups to find out what they think.