Subject Selection in AAC Research: Decision Points

As demonstrated by the two preceding papers (Bedrosian, 1995; Higginbotham, 1995), the appropriate selection of subjects for conducting augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) research can be complex and, in many cases, unresolved. Our intention in presenting opposing views on the use of nondisabled individuals for AAC research was to highlight issues pertinent to subject selection. As evidenced by the different lines of argumentation in these papers, however, the use of nondisabled individuals and/or persons with communicative impairments for research purposes is based on a complex set of assumptions, many of which have not been subjected to close scrutiny or empirical study. Common to most of the topics discussed in these papers are such over-arching issues of the representativeness/homogeneity of subjects, methodological design, external validity, and the economics of carrying out a research project. In light of these particular issues, the purpose of this concluding paper is to provide the researcher with a set of heuristics for making appropriate subject choices.