Breaking Down Barriers: Making Your Research More Accessible
Empowering Accessible Research!
As researchers, we want to make sure our products and services are usable and enjoyable for as many people as possible. But did you know that by ignoring accessibility, we could be excluding a significant portion of the population?
Like Billy Gregory, a Senior Accessibility Engineer said: “When UX doesn’t consider ALL users, shouldn’t it be known as ‘SOME user experience’ or… SUX?’”
In this newsletter, we'll explore why accessibility is crucial to our work, and how we can apply it in our research to create truly inclusive experiences.
First, let's define accessibility
At its core, accessibility means designing products and services that can be used by as many people as possible, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. It's also worth noting that disabilities can be acquired at any point in life, so designing for accessibility is not just about accommodating people who were born with disabilities, but also those who may have acquired them due to injury, illness, or aging.
It's important to take into account the diverse accessibility needs of users with disabilities and consider the different contexts and situations in which they may encounter barriers:
Permanent disabilities include blindness, deafness, paralysis, and intellectual disabilities.
Temporary disabilities include a broken arm or an ear infection.
Situational disabilities include using a device in bright sunlight or having your hands full of groceries and being unable to open the door.
Source: https://inclusive.microsoft.design/
So why is accessibility so important?
For one thing, it's the right thing to do - everyone deserves equal access to technology and information. But beyond that, designing for accessibility can also have real business benefits, such as:
Increasing the potential user base for a product or service, as people with disabilities make up a significant portion of the population (about 16% of the world's population, according to the World Health Organization).
Improving the overall usability and quality of a product or service, as accessibility considerations often overlap with good design principles (such as clear communication and intuitive navigation).
Reducing the risk of legal action or negative publicity due to inaccessible products or services.
In research, accessibility is about ensuring that our methods and findings are inclusive and representative of diverse user populations. Here are some ways we can apply accessibility principles in our work:
Recruiting participants with a range of abilities and disabilities, and providing accommodations (such as assistive technology or sign language interpreters) as needed.
Designing research materials (such as surveys, interview guides, or usability tasks) that are clear, concise, and easy to understand for all users.
Conducting usability tests with assistive technology (such as screen readers or voice recognition software) to ensure that our products and services are compatible with a variety of tools.
Analyzing data with an eye towards accessibility, looking for patterns or trends that might disproportionately affect certain user groups.
Designing for accessibility can benefit all users, even those without disabilities. For example, closed captioning was initially implemented as an accessibility feature for people with hearing impairments, but it has since become widely used by people universally in their everyday lives, whether they're in a noisy environment, trying to watch a video without disturbing others, or simply preferring to read along with the audio.
Another example is the use of larger font sizes and higher contrast colors, which can benefit people with visual impairments, but also make content easier to read for people with small screens or in low-light environments. By designing with accessibility in mind, we can create products and services that are more user-friendly and enjoyable for everyone.
Want to learn more? Here is a podcast, company, and webinar in the accessibility space that you might want to engage with:
Disability Bandwidth (Podcast): Talks with disability leaders about careers, life, and technology.
Fable (Company): A leading accessibility platform powered by people with disabilities.
UXR with Participants with Disabilities | UX Research & Strategy (Webinar): This talk by Sheri Byrne-Haber emphasizes the importance of including people with disabilities in user experience research.
Huge shoutout to Emily Killam and John Miramontes for contributing such an amazing piece on Accessibility!
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Thanks for reading, and happy researching!
The RB Team
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