Revised methodology

I have considered some revisions to my methodology in order to ensure that distant participants (including non UK residents) can be included.

There have been problems selecting suitable material, both from a pragmatic base of what might be appropriate and what may be legally possible without infringing copyrights. It seems some organisations are very strict about modifying the material, which is necessary due to length.

It would also not be pragmatic to present material online, because of the copyright issues and because I not everyone has equal access to good broadband services and computer equipment that would allow multiple windowing. It has been in all too impractical for me to either obtain or design a programme that would allow the collection of data this way

Therefore the material will be available to two of the experimental groups in the form of a DVD. The questions themselves will be available via web access.

This will have the advantage of being able to compare the responses of the groups who have continual access to the material, in order to review and revise it, and those who are presented with the material in a classroom setting.

I am still in the progress of writing up a full explanation of the methodology and am pleased to report it has been accepted for a poster presentation at the Disability Studies Association conference at Lancaster University later this year.

I will also be presenting another paper at this conference which examines my role as a researcher and the way in which medical science in general has been constrained by it's own definitions in terms of what it researches so far as autism is concerned. It is hoped that I will be able to find an open access publisher for this paper which forms part of the background to my research.