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Power, Prescription, and Postpositivism: Considerations for collecting and representing neurodiversity demographic information in physics education research
written by Mason D. Moenter, George R. Keefe, Liam G. E. McDermott, and Erin M. Scanlon
Demographic data collection is essential in education research, as demographic data allows researchers to better describe the participant population they study and to contextualize findings. However, current research practices for neurodiversity demographics often rely on prescriptive methods (e.g., requiring participants to report official diagnoses) rather than allowing participants to self-identify. This approach can: a) not allow participants to express their intersecting identities in ways that are authentic; and b) limit trustworthiness and reliability of the data and interpretation. In addition, inconsistent dissemination and representation of demographic data across studies hinder the accessibility and usability of this work. Through a literature review of neurodivergent student experiences with learning and performing STEM, we identified widespread discrepancies in how demographic information is collected and reported. This paper explores how neurodivergent identities can be more accurately and inclusively represented in education research. We present findings of a thematic analysis on the ways neurodivergent demographic data collection is done in the literature using data from a systematic literature review on neurodivergent science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning and performance. We call on the PER community to contribute to the development of a framework that centers participant autonomy while supporting clarity, consistency, and future research use.
Physics Education Research Conference 2025
Part of the PER Conference series
Washington, DC: August 6-7, 2025
Pages 300-307
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Education - Basic Research
- Research Design & Methodology
= Data
= Evaluation
- Sample Population
= Special Need
- Societal Issues
- Student Characteristics
= Ability
= Affect
- Upper Undergraduate
- Lower Undergraduate
- Reference Material
= Research study
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Format:
application/pdf
Mirror:
https://doi.org/10.1119/perc.2025…
Access Rights:
Free access
License:
This material is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the published article's author(s), title, proceedings citation, and DOI.
Rights Holder:
American Association of Physics Teachers
DOI:
10.1119/perc.2025.pr.Moenter
NSF Numbers:
2411711
2336367
2336368
Keyword:
PERC 2025
Record Creator:
Metadata instance created October 20, 2025 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:
October 27, 2025 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update
when Cataloged:
October 28, 2025
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Record Link
AIP Format
M. Moenter, G. Keefe, L. McDermott, and E. Scanlon, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2025, Washington, DC, 2025, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=17157&DocID=6085).
AJP/PRST-PER
M. Moenter, G. Keefe, L. McDermott, and E. Scanlon, Power, Prescription, and Postpositivism: Considerations for collecting and representing neurodiversity demographic information in physics education research, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2025, Washington, DC, 2025, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=17157&DocID=6085>.
APA Format
Moenter, M., Keefe, G., McDermott, L., & Scanlon, E. (2025, August 6-7). Power, Prescription, and Postpositivism: Considerations for collecting and representing neurodiversity demographic information in physics education research. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2025, Washington, DC. Retrieved February 11, 2026, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=17157&DocID=6085
Chicago Format
Moenter, M, G. Keefe, L. McDermott, and E. Scanlon. "Power, Prescription, and Postpositivism: Considerations for collecting and representing neurodiversity demographic information in physics education research." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2025, Washington, DC, August 6-7, 2025. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=17157&DocID=6085 (accessed 11 February 2026).
MLA Format
Moenter, Mason D., George R. Keefe, Liam G. E. McDermott, and Erin Scanlon. "Power, Prescription, and Postpositivism: Considerations for collecting and representing neurodiversity demographic information in physics education research." Physics Education Research Conference 2025. Washington, DC: 2025. 300-307 of PER Conference. 11 Feb. 2026 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=17157&DocID=6085>.
BibTeX Export Format
@inproceedings{ Author = "Mason D. Moenter and George R. Keefe and Liam G. E. McDermott and Erin Scanlon", Title = {Power, Prescription, and Postpositivism: Considerations for collecting and representing neurodiversity demographic information in physics education research}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2025}, Pages = {300-307}, Address = {Washington, DC}, Series = {PER Conference}, Month = {August 6-7}, Year = {2025} }
Refer Export Format

%A Mason D. Moenter %A George R. Keefe %A Liam G. E. McDermott %A Erin Scanlon %T Power, Prescription, and Postpositivism: Considerations for collecting and representing neurodiversity demographic information in physics education research %S PER Conference %D August 6-7 2025 %P 300-307 %C Washington, DC %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=17157&DocID=6085 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2025 %O August 6-7 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Moenter, Mason D. %A Keefe, George R. %A McDermott, Liam G. E. %A Scanlon, Erin %D August 6-7 2025 %T Power, Prescription, and Postpositivism: Considerations for collecting and representing neurodiversity demographic information in physics education research %B Physics Education Research Conference 2025 %C Washington, DC %P 300-307 %S PER Conference %8 August 6-7 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=17157&DocID=6085


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Power, Prescription, and Postpositivism: Considerations for collecting and representing neurodiversity demographic information in physics education research:


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