Accessible summary: This article presents part of the research project we carried out on the importance of social relationships and loneliness in young people with and without intellectual disabilities. We interviewed 23 young people during our research which was developed over more than a year and a half. Social relationships are important for young people both with and without learning disabilities. A person may want or need to be alone, but nobody wants to feel lonely. We wrote this article collaboratively. People with a intellectual disabilities do not often contribute to written papers. This article presents the results of a project carried out by a group of researchers with and without intellectual disabilities on the importance of social relationships and loneliness. We wanted to find out about the experience of loneliness in young people with and without intellectual disabilities and know whether this was an important issue for them too. We interviewed a total of 23 young people during our research which was developed over more than a year and a half. This article has been organised into three parts. In the first part, the two academic researchers outline the concept of inclusive research highlighting the value of recognising and making the experiences of people with intellectual disabilities visible. Following this, the four authors describe how the research group was formed and the methodological decisions that were made. Finally, we report the results of the research and the main conclusions. The young people with and without disabilities we interviewed told us that nobody wants to feel lonely. We believe that it is important for other researchers at the university to recognise our work and be encouraged to implement inclusive research processes.

This article seeks to illustrate how a research study that claims to be inclusive should incorporate into its development, decisions of methodological flexibility that enable voice to be given to all participants regardless of their personal conditions. The changes carried out in the techniques, procedures or in the kind of questions used in the research, illustrate how young persons can be involved in the building of scientific and academic knowledge that is being generated about them. This work forms part of a more extensive line of inquiry that started a number of years ago by two Spanish universities (Cantabria and Seville).

In recent decades, there have been many works on inclusive research that provide a clear framework on its meaning and the implications it entails. They also highlight the importance of addressing outstanding challenges, among others, to inquire after research strategies that respond to the diversity of situations in which people with intellectual disabilities find themselves. This article presents a research project carried out in Spain over a period of eighteen months by a team of researchers with and without intellectual disabilities. Specifically, we explore how the construction of enabling relationships, both dialogic and horizontal, requires giving greater emphasis to visual and creative methodological strategies, such as photographs, image-theatre, body-mapping, murals or visual presentations. The findings reported by the researchers and co-researchers have encouraged us to review some methodological premises such as our role as researchers or the type of relationships we establish. They also demonstrate the value of using a variety of collaborative enquiry strategies that recognise the agency of all researchers.

The number of studies on inclusive research involving people with learning disabilities is increasing. These studies address multiple factors that need better understanding, including the education and training of people with learning disabilities and factors that affect different aspects of the research process. This 18-month long study is part of the collaborative research conducted in Spain and carried out by a research team, which consists of both academics and non-academics with learning disabilities. The results demonstrate that inclusive research should be a dialogical practice that addresses significant and relevant issues concerning people with learning disabilities serving as researchers. The results also show that inclusive research is a formative practice that offers opportunities for debate, compromise, and the analysis of these topics.Points of interest The education and training of people with learning disabilities are relevant topics in inclusive research. The study demonstrates the value of inclusive research based on collaborative relationships This study indicates that inclusive research should be a communicative process, open to the possibility of learning with and from other people. Research studies should address topics relevant to people with learning disabilities, including social inclusion. Inclusive research is an ongoing learning process that offers opportunities for debate and compromise.