A Comprehensive Guide to Accessible User Research: Part 2 – Recruitment and Preparation

@BrianGrellmann’s second blog post of a series about taking an inclusive approach to accessibility in design research.

Things to consider:

• Recruitment
• Recruit a mix of disabilities and assistive technology
• There will be overlap (Intersectionality) - focus on access needs and technology used
• Stimulus
• Ensure the fidelity and execution of the testing stimulus is accessible to those who are testing it (functional HTML = assistive technologies)

Recruitment examples:

• Generative / Discovery research - broad approach for variety of disabilities, assistive technologies, behaviours.
• Iterative design - focus on matching participants and prototypes, broader inclusion of access needs across studies.
• Evaluative research - more specific to cover a a variety of disabilities and assistive technologies.

Accessibility all the way:

• Telepresence software, consent forms, surveys, PDFs should all be accessible.
• Lab / testing location and furniture accessibility.
• Be prepared and allow for more time to make any alterations of specific requests.