Disability data: a case study in research limitation transparency

Disability measures currently used in U.S. federal surveys fail to identify many disabled people as such. This commentary summarizes empirical evidence regarding the underperformance of the American Community Survey six questions (ACS6) and Washington Group Short Set (WGSS) questions in measuring disability status. Building trust in science is a priority issue and necessitates greater transparency and communication about the limitations of these measures, both within research communities and among the public. Considering the underperformance of the ACS6 and WGSS in measuring disability status, we provide cautionary statements that researchers can use when including these measures in studies to ensure that interpretations of results are not overgeneralized to the disabled population.