Two decades of disability research in Norway - 1990-2010

The aim of this article is to outline the main trends in Norwegian disability research over the last two decades. Prior to 1990, the research area was dominated by medical perspectives and was mainly research on impairments. Contributions addressing social problems, everyday life issues, equality and participation were few and sparse. This changed in the early 1990s and a social scientific research tradition emerged and grew into an institutionalized area of research. It is argued that the development was related to funding schemes, and also that two main attributes of Norwegian disability research were present from the early years: (1) evaluations of disability policy provisions, and (2) research intended to disclose social problems. The article discusses (1) the profile of Norwegian disability research, (2) its institutionalisation, and (3) the main topics and themes that have been raised.