Running research sessions with disabled people
When you do research with disabled people, it鈥檚 important to plan your sessions carefully, treat participants with respect and take account of their individual needs.
Steps to follow
Think about what you need to do to make sessions easy and comfortable for participants, both before they start and when they are underway.
Before a session
If you鈥檙e running a session at a research lab or other venue:
- meet the participant at reception (or arrange for someone else to)
- bring them to the lab or research room - find out
- ask if they need you to set up any equipment they鈥檝e brought - this can take time so make sure you plan for it
- explain where the nearest toilets are, including the accessible one
- explain what will happen if the fire alarm goes off
If your participants need to use assistive technology, ask them to bring it with them. This is because it鈥檚 hard to recreate someone鈥檚 personal settings on a different device. If a participant cannot bring their technology, it鈥檚 best to visit them instead.
Do not pet a participant鈥檚 assistance dog, unless they say you can.
Before you start the session:
- introduce yourself and explain who else is with you (like observers or notetakers) and what their role is
- make sure they can use and understand the consent form so you get their informed consent
During a session
Regardless of what you鈥檙e researching and which user research method you鈥檙e using:
- talk directly to the participant, not to their interpreter or helper
- speak clearly and use everyday language without worrying about causing offence - for example, people who are blind or partially sighted use common phrases like 鈥榮ee you later鈥� and 鈥榮ee what I mean鈥�
- check if they need you to speak up or slow down
- do not guess what the participant is saying if their speech is not clear - ask them to write things down if you need to
- do not guess or make assumptions about what they can or cannot do - ask before you help them with something
- do not guess or make assumptions about how they feel or why they did something - if you want to know, ask
- if you鈥檙e unsure how to refer to the participant鈥檚 disability or impairment, ask them what terminology they prefer
- ask how their condition affects their use of technology, if this is not clear
After a session
When the research session is finished, thank the participant for taking part.
If you鈥檙e at a research lab or other venue:
- make sure the participant packs up any assistive technology they鈥檝e brought
- check if they need you to book them a taxi or arrange for someone to meet them
- take them back to reception (or ask someone else to)
Examples and case studies
Read a blog post about .
in the book 鈥楯ust Ask: Integrating accessibility throughout design鈥�.
Posters
, made by the Home Office
Related guides
You may also find these guides useful:
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Guidance first published