Despite obtaining a significant amount of data regarding the factors that affect the formation of the Deaf identity, several limitations still remain. Firstly, for this research, the group decided to focus primarily on collecting qualitative data rather than quantitative data due to the limited amount of research done on the Deaf community in Hong Kong. We were also hesitant to base our analysis on the results of previous research done in Western cultures and societies. Hence, we pursued a qualitative research as we wanted to encourage openness among our interviewees and have them draw on their personal experiences.
However, as with most qualitative research, we could only study a few people and while we were careful to select individuals from a variety of contexts and backgrounds within the Deaf community, we are unable to conclusively determine if the views of the 7 Deaf individuals we interviewed are reflective of the Deaf community as a whole. As mentioned, our results yielded a broad spectrum of self-positioned identities which were dependent on a range of factors. Despite this, we believe that the findings of our research can serve as a good starting point for future quantitative research which is necessary to substantiate them.
Secondly, it can be noted that the members of group all had some prior knowledge on the Deaf community prior to the research project. Furthermore, as researchers we may have intuitively kept an open mind to the possible findings and were more conscious about the views we had. As such, the personal logs we recorded are not an accurate representation of the views, beliefs and attitudes that members of the hearing world may have towards the Deaf community. Initially, we had planned to collect data from the hearing world through an online or face-to-face survey; however, due to time constraints we were unable to do so.
Lastly, there were several occurrences where there may possibly have been a conflict of interest which could have skewed our findings. It was found that many NGOs were hesitant to be interviewed due to a high level of confidentiality. Hence, it is possible that the answers provided by Ms. L during our interview may have been censored to a certain extent or phrased to portray the Deaf community in a specific way. The interview with the social entrepreneur and deaf employee also brings up some ambiguity in terms of censorship. As the interview with the Deaf employee was conducted in the presence of her boss, who was serving as an interpreter when needed, it is possible that the answers she provided us with regards to her workplace environment may have been more positively described due to a fear of offending her boss. Either way, further steps could have been taken to reduce such occurrences.